Eye of the Storm
by StarkBlack
Summary: ZoSanZo. In the aftermath of catastrophe, two like souls meet in what can only be described as fate. Now they will both learn to trust again, and keep each other alive in more ways than one. Warnings: violence, gore, language, yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Happy Holidays everyone!

I wanted to write a little something for you all for the season, but when I started a Christmas/Holiday fic I remembered how much I hate writing holiday themed fanfiction. I don't mind reading it, but the Christmas prompt (or any holiday for that matter) tends to completely stump me. That being said, I still wanted to write you all something, so I thought I'd try out a genre that everyone seems to be pretty okay with. What is it? Well, read on to find out.

I'm trying out shorter chapters with this one in hopes that I can post a chapter every day this week. I've already got six or seven finished so you know you'll have a steady flow for at least a few days. I might even be able to finish it this weekend. :O

Anyway, I hope everyone has a good break. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and if you don't celebrate any of the holidays, have a great end of the year!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Day one-hundred eighty-five._

The cold had started masking the smell of them for the most part. That putrid, metallic sweetness had faded as the days grew shorter. Only when you sliced them with a knife or bludgeoned them up close did it touch your nostrils. What had not changed was the sound. That dry wheeze, that clicking of teeth as they shuffled by was as bad as ever. The older ones were decayed enough that they had taken to scooting, or pulling themselves along on broken hands or stumps of shoulders. The scratch of bones on concrete had become like the sounds of traffic outside a city window.

Sanji crouched at the corner of what had once been a city market, facing east with his back to the cement wall. Shops stood empty and dark as far as he could see. Windows were broken, signs hung limp with letters fading. Nothing lived here now, nothing but ghosts and the memories of a civilization.

Glancing to his left, Sanji nodded to his partner who had taken position across the street. Law nodded in return, his dark eyes flashing just beneath a thick, wool cap. He twisted his body, leaned out into the street, and whistled—three short twitters—a simple bird call.

Dry, lifeless heads turned and milky eyes rolled in Law's direction. Fingerless hands reached out and bones scraped as the Deadies clicked and creaked and started shambling or pulling themselves in Law's direction. Law stood and backed away slowly, giving his pursuers time to get a little closer.

Sanji watched. He waited. He checked his grip on the knife in his palm and slowly counted to ten. He breathed in, let it out, and stood. The Deadies nearest to him snapped their jaws; reached for him wildly, but Sanji was calm and his body moved with confidence.

He brought the knife up under the first Deadie's jaw, severing the spinal cord and almost taking its head clear off. The second practically walked right into it. Blood and mucus ran down the thing's face as Sanji found what was left if its brain through its eye socket. Three more like that, and then on to the group that was following Law. An arrow found the back of a hairless skull, and Sanji waved a thank you over his shoulder to Usopp, who was situated on the roof of what used to be a Starbucks. Two more dropped as arrows hit, the solid _thunk_ and the clatter of a body falling to the ground was music to Sanji's ears.

Law continued to wave his arms and back away down the street. Not slow enough for any of the Deadies to get close, but not fast enough to get away either. Sanji followed, dropping one after the other with his knife. Usopp supported from above, hit after perfect hit.

There had been twenty-three of them walking when they started, and the whole thing had taken maybe four minutes. Sanji and his team had killed hundreds in the last few months, this was nothing.

"You all right?" Law asked, his mouth turned up in a grimace as he wiped his blade clean.

Sanji nodded.

"Cool," Law stepped over the bodies, making his way back towards him, "Let's see if we can't find something to eat." He unclipped the walkie from his belt and spoke softly into the receiver. "Usopp, are we clear?"

The walkie crackled and Usopp's voice came through. "_Yeah, unless they start coming up from the subway, you're good._"

"Roger." Law turned to Sanji and grinned, "Let's go."

Deadies tended to mass together in large groups, clumping around closed doors of supermarkets and down in the subway tunnels as if waiting for the trains that no longer ran. No one was sure if it was because those places had once been highly traveled and still held a lingering smell of the living, or if maybe the Deadies were following some sort of inherent muscle memory to familiar things. Sanji didn't think it was either, especially now since it was so cold, and if the Deadies really had any muscle memory at all, they would have seen at least a few return to their homes.

No, the swarming was more than likely mindless and the groups just happened to bunch up in places they couldn't find a way out of. Like now, the few they had just put down had been stuck in an ally, shambling in circles, not realizing the way out was behind them towards the open street.

"Sanji, you coming?"

None of that mattered now. Things like psychology and philosophy were useless in regards to the risen dead. Life now was kill or be killed; pray about it later.

Moving into the ally, Sanji retrieved a crowbar from Law's duffle and pried open the door to what they hoped was dry storage for the restaurant around front. Entry from that direction had been impossible after the bombings, but this side of the structure was still intact. Sanji went in first, his knife at the ready, and Law followed close behind.

It was not what he saw that made Sanji's heart ache, but more the memories that were awoken at the sight of such familiarity. A full kitchen untouched by the horrors of the outside world surrounded him, tidy, with only a thin layer of dust upon the metal surfaces. Pots hung above the wide prep table, knives hung gleaming from a magnetic strip on the wall. Bins of flower and rice sat beneath long counters, and containers of spices sat organized on a rack in the center of the space.

Such care and attention to organization, such a love for the craft, it was only a memory now. Only a ghost.

"Sanji?" Law's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Not wanting to appear weak or overly sentimental, Sanji quickly pulled his eyes away from his first love and headed towards the back area of offices to what he was sure was storage. The door opened easily with the crowbar and what they found inside was nothing short of a miracle.

"Damn," Law whistled, "Dead Day must have happened like, the day after a delivery huh?"

Sanji nodded. The shelves were stocked with canned goods: tomatoes, hominy, peaches, and cherries. The racks below held unopened bags of wheat and rice. Sanji moved to one of the bags and tore it open, checking for weevils or other signs of decay or contamination.

"Holy shit, there's ketchup," Law had started to pull things off the shelves, filling his duffle with whatever he could get his hands on. "Jesus… mustard, sauerkraut, salt and pepper! Sanji you're a fucking genius!"

Sanji's lips pulled up into a half smile at that and he unhooked the empty duffle from his shoulders. He located all the salt he could find, and took all the boxes of tea and dehydrated milk. Cans of beans, tomatoes, and tuna filled most of the bag, and he managed to cram a few containers of peaches in as well. Happy with his load, Sanji moved to close the duffle, but from the bottom shelf, tucked back behind cans of olives, a bottle of chocolate syrup caught his eye. He happened to know someone who would appreciate that more than ketchup or salt, so he quickly slipped it into the bag before he closed the flaps and tied it shut.

Law was practically vibrating as he held up a container of coffee for Sanji to see. "Do you have any idea how great this is? This is better than gold."

Rolling his eyes, Sanji hoisted the duffle over his shoulders and hooked the chest strap. It was heavy, but it would be worth it to get it back to camp.

The walkie at Law's belt crackled. Law froze to listen, but Usopp relayed no message. He looked at Sanji, "You good?"

Sanji nodded and started for the door. The walkie crackled again, this time longer. Sanji turned and watched as Law unclipped the device and held it up.

"Usopp, what's going on?" he waited a moment, nothing.

"Usopp? Are you okay?"

Another crackling but no distinct words came through. Sanji motioned with his head and moved back out into the kitchen. Law followed, speaking into the receiver.

"Usopp, we're coming back out. We'll be there in a few seconds."

Crackling answered, and this time Sanji could make out Usopp's frantic voice. What he was saying, however, was still garbled. Law shook the walkie; hit it against his palm once. "Reception?"

Sanji shrugged and motioned for Law to follow him for the door but as he reached for the handle, Sanji froze as Usopp's voice finally came through the receiver. It was muffled and the static was harsh, but his words were clear.

"_They're right on you guys! I can't take them all! What the hell are you still doing in there!_"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Law growled back.

Sanji pulled a stool out from underneath a prep table and dragged it over to one of the high windows. He climbed up and peered out over the sill. At least thirty Deadies had found their way into the ally and were blocking the door.

"_I've been calling for you guys for like ten minutes!_" Usopp whispered frantically through the walkie, "They came up from the subway all at once. I don't know what set them off!"

Law groaned and removed his cap to scratch at his forehead. "Can you get them clear? You can lead them down Third and we can go around to Birch and meet you at the corner."

"_I got it._"

"See you in a few," Law re-clipped the walkie to his belt and slid his cap back over his dark hair. "This is gonna be a bitch to run with," he said, readjusting the duffle on his shoulders.

Sanji agreed, circling around and meeting back up at the corner of Birch and Third meant that both of them were going to have to sprint several blocks. Sanji was okay with that, however. Whatever it took, he would get this food back to their friends at camp. This was his mission, his responsibility.

An arrow struck the left temple of a Deadie standing directly outside the window. As it fell, several others turned and started shambling away, down the street. Usopp was more than just a good shot, he was a quick thinker and a fast runner. He would be fine until Sanji and Law caught up with him.

"Good man, Usopp," Law murmured as the terrible clicking sounds moved out of the ally.

Sanji jumped to the floor and put his hand on the door. He glanced at Law, waited for his nod, and opened it.

Out on the street, a few Deadies had lagged behind and turned around at the sound of the door hinges. Sanji was ready with his knife, as was Law, and the two of them quickly dispatched the stragglers before they turned and headed towards Birch Street. A mass of cars were clumped together at the corner, some stacked precariously like a barricade. Slipping between the remnants of an old Chevy and a crushed Toyota, Sanji turned the corner and almost collided with a large, putrid body.

"Fuck!" Law cursed behind him.

There were at least fifteen Deadies on Birch between them and the intersection with Third. The one standing before them had to have been at least three hundred pounds in life, possibly more. Rolls of sick, rotting flesh hung out over sagging pants. Slimy, bloody jowls flapped as yellow and black teeth clicked in Sanji's direction.

They had seconds. Law tossed Sanji his crowbar and Sanji took out the Deadie's legs. It fell to the ground with a heavy, wet sound, but neither Sanji nor Law wasted any time taking out the brain. They ran. They weaved their way through the group of wandering dead, taking out one or two as they passed. As they neared the corner, Usopp came into view. His camouflage jacket and his mass of dreadlocks a welcome and terrifying sight. He turned his head, eyes wide, and his finger on the trigger of his crossbow.

"We're screwed you guys!" Usopp cried, "I don't know where they all came from!"

Sanji skidded to a stop beside his friend. Usopp was right, there were no longer thirty or so heading their way. There were at least fifty now, mostly Newdead, blood still rust-brown on their mouths and bodies mostly intact.

Law grabbed Sanji's shoulder and pushed him onward, "We gotta move!"

They had no options. Behind them, Third had been blocked by a barrier of cars and other debris, and the rest of Birch was now a mass of creaking bones and gaping mouths. They had to continue down to where Birch turned into Express and look for a way to get up on high ground. Deadies didn't climb, so drainpipes and scaffolding were ideals for escape. It was a gamble, but it was either take this chance or die.

Sanji grabbed Usopp's collar and pulled the smaller man along with him as he ran.

"Ack! Sanji! Wait, where are we going?"

"We're going the direction the Deadies aren't!" Law shouted, "Shut up and run!"

The duffle bag's weight pulled painfully at Sanji's shoulders, but he would not give it up. He would get this food back even if it got him killed.

Buildings on either side of the street loomed dark and menacing as the three tried to make space between them and the advancing swarm. Demolished cars and overturned garbage bins forced them to run through a zigzag path. Broken down military vehicles and piles of trash slowed them down, keeping the Deadies only meters behind them. Sanji scanned the walls looking for anything they could use to climb, but so far he saw nothing.

"I'm out!" Usopp screamed as he shot his last arrow. He slung his crossbow over his shoulders and turned to fully focus on fleeing.

Express was blocked at the intersection and there was still no way to get to high ground. There were fire escapes on the buildings on the north side, but the lowest levels had been torn completely off. There was no way they could reach them. Sanji turned right and started to head up the cross-street, but slowed at what he saw before him.

Law skidded to a halt as well, "Aw shit…" he murmured.

Usopp nearly tripped over Sanji and let out a small whimper when he realized why his friends had stopped.

"Oh, please God, no…"

Deadies lined the street for at least the next three blocks. Yellowed eyes rolled wildly in their direction. Mouths with blackened, cracked teeth snapped, eager to tear into warm flesh. They were completely surrounded. There was absolutely no way out.

"Oh God… oh God… oh God…" Usopp clutched at Sanji's sleeve, his hand trembled violently.

"This… this is not fucking happening," Law growled.

Sanji turned, watching as the pursuing swarm turned the corner, a wall of decay and death heading straight for them.

This was it. He was finally going to die.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Here is part two! I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! I definitely got a 2,000 piece model of _Sunny_ from my sister so I'm pretty much the happiest person ever right now. I will post pictures of me trying to assemble it in the future.

Notes: Sorry for no update yesterday, fanfiction was down or something because I couldn't sign in. But that's cool for you readers because you get two chapters today!

Other notes: No, Zoro is not a zombie in this story. That would be weird.

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**Chapter 2**

_Sanji turned, watching as the pursuing swarm turned the corner, a wall of decay and death heading straight for them._

_This was it. He was finally going to die._

Above them, a loud metal _clang_ rang out, echoing over the sound of shuffling bodies and clicking teeth. Sanji looked up and found the third floor fire escape ladder being lowered to the second. A man in a long, dark green trench coat and wide-rimmed hood kicked the metal bar until the latch broke, releasing the ladder and sending it sliding down.

"This way!" the man called to them.

The bottom of the ladder was still out of reach, but not if someone gave them a boost. Sanji didn't hesitate and crouched down, locking his fingers together and motioning for Usopp to set up.

"Thank you!" Usopp cried and put his boot into Sanji's hands. Law assisted and the two of them pushed their young friend up high enough to reach the bottom of the ladder. He climbed and the hooded man pulled him up the rest of the way.

Sanji crouched again, motioning for Law to go next.

"What about you?" Law's eyes were wide.

Sanji shook his head and held out his hands. The swarm was coming closer and the stragglers in front of them had started moving in as well.

"Come on!" the hooded man called from above.

Law put a hand on Sanji's shoulder and placed his boot into Sanji's palms. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Sanji took a breath and lifted. Law was taller than Usopp, but thinner, lighter. However, that made no difference as Law had a bag strapped to his back that probably weighed a few hundred pounds. Sanji's muscles ached, the tendons in his shoulders and elbows burned as he lifted. His back almost gave out, but he got Law up, high enough that his friend could reach the bottom of the ladder.

He did not wait to see if the hooded man pulled Law up and unbuckled the bag from his shoulders. It was more important that the camp got this food than if he made it back, so he pushed the straps from his shoulders and gripped the thick nylon in his hands.

"What the fuck are you doing, man!" the hooded man roared, "Leave the bag, save yourself!"

Sanji shook his head and glanced at the Deadies to his right and left.

"He's not coming 'till the food is up!" Law cried. "I got it, Sanji! Throw it up!"

Law held out his hands and Sanji threw back, swinging with all his might. The bag sailed up passed the ladder and directly into Law's arms. Usopp leaned over the railing and caught the other end and the two pulled it up onto the fire escape.

"Come on, Sanji!" Usopp called frantically, his eyes watching the Deadies closing in on both sides with wild eyes, "Get up here!"

"It's too high!" the hooded man ducked under the railing and started to climb down the ladder, "Jump up I might be able to catch you!"

"Wait! No!" Usopp pulled at the hooded man's coat, "He's got this, come back up!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Just get up here!" Law ordered.

The hooded man looked down at Sanji, one dark eye shone like polished stone as they locked gazes for a single moment that seemed to stretch for hours. Sanji nodded his head then, smiled, and turned to the swarm that was almost upon him.

He breathed in once and let it out slowly. He cleared his mind of that terrible clicking, of the dry, rasping moans, and focused on the large newdead coming straight for him. It's parts were still intact, it's arms were still flesh and muscle. Sanji waited until the swarm was only a few feet away. He could almost smell the coppery stench of blood and bile. He backed up a few steps, took another long breath, and bolted.

Sanji's legs moved swiftly, his strides were wide and precise as he turned toward the brick wall of the building. He jumped, set his foot on the brick and pushed off. He twisted his body, bringing in his legs and sailing straight for the large, still fleshy newdead, and found purchase with the bottom of his shoes directly on the thing's shoulders. He had only one shot, one chance to reach the ladder.

He took it.

He pushed off, reaching for the bars. He could feel the tips of dead, rotting fingers brush against his legs, sharp bones and jagged fingernails catching on the denim of his jeans, but he was up, away from the swarm. He was far above them now, flying, soaring.

His hands found the metal of the ladder and he gripped it hard. He hung there for a few moments, breathing, letting his heartbeat catch up, his wits return, his hearing come back to him. He could make out voices shouting his name, but he didn't want to move yet. He didn't want to open his eyes.

Reality came back to him in the hard grip of a strong hand on his wrist. Sanji looked up and found the hooded man on the ladder ready to pull him up.

"Come on," he said softly.

Sanji came. He let himself be heaved up onto the fire escape and dropped onto the metal platform. Usopp practically fell into his lap, throwing his arms around Sanji's shoulders.

"Holy crap," Usopp's voice wavered, "I thought you were a gonner…"

Sanji hugged his friend tightly, relaxing into the warm embrace. Law ruffled his blond hair and picked up the second duffle bag. "No way, Sanji's fucking Spiderman."

Turning to their rescuer, Law put out his tattooed hand. The man didn't hesitate and shook it.

"Thank you," Law said, "We owe you one."

The man shrugged, "Whatever. Let's get up top. What the hell were you guys doing on the ground anyway?"

"Food storage was on the bottom floor of one of the buildings back there," Law said as he followed, "Didn't have any other choice."

Usopp pulled Sanji to his feet and the four made their way up the last few floors and pulled themselves up onto the roof. The man removed his hood, revealing rough, handsome, features and olive skin. He looked like a mixture of something, maybe Korean or Japanese, but Sanji wasn't sure. A scar decorated the left side of his face, directly over the eyelid. Sanji guessed he had lost the eye and that was why he kept it closed. He also had short, grey-green hair. Why someone would take the time to do that, with the world like it was now, Sanji couldn't guess, but it looked good. The green suited him.

"What's your name?" Law asked.

"Zoro," the man replied.

Law nodded and pointed to himself. "I'm Law, this long-nosed guy here is Usopp. Spiderman's name is Sanji."

Zoro's attention turned to Sanji. His one dark eye studied him intensely enough to make it seem like a challenge, so Sanji stared back.

"Where'd you learn to do that back there?" Zoro asked.

"He doesn't talk," Usopp said.

Zoro frowned at him. "Doesn't? Or he can't?"

Usopp shook his head, "We're not sure."

Zoro's eye turned back to Sanji, but Law's voice interrupted any more interrogation their new acquaintance had for him.

"You a drifter? Or do you have a camp somewhere?"

Zoro shook his head, "No camp. Been on my own for a while."

"We've got a place a few miles north of the city," Law offered, "We can set you up for a while if you want. It's safe. There's water, shelter, stuff to trade. Least we can do since you saved us and all."

Zoro glanced at Law, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he thought about the offer.

"Yeah," he said finally, "Okay."

Law nodded, "All right, let's get outta this shithole."

Sanji grabbed the second duffle and heaved it over his shoulders. He buckled the strap and followed the others as they made their way across the rooftop. When they came to the edge, they crossed from the building they were on to the next by a series of planks that had been nailed together and was straddling the seven to eight foot gap. Makeshift bridges like this one had been fashioned together between structures in most of the larger cities. Traveling over rooftops was infinitely safer than trying to brave the streets where hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Deadies roamed.

When they neared the rural area where Usopp had parked their truck, Sanji fell into step behind Zoro. He noticed something strapped to the man's back underneath his travel pack. A sword, white with gold trim and held in a white sheath. A sword was a good weapon against Deadies if you knew how to use it. Sanji began to wonder if this Zoro had merely found it, or if it was his and he actually had some skill. Someone like that would be valuable to their group. Maybe Law had noticed the weapon and had come to the same conclusion. Maybe that was why he had been so quick to offer shelter.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Zoro was a maniac and he planned on being led back to the camp so he could kill everyone in their sleep, but Sanji didn't think that was the most likely scenario. However, one could never be sure. Stranger, more fucked up, things had definitely happened.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Part three is here! I'm so happy that you, my readers, are liking this! Thank you so much for the great comments and reviews! It's been really fun hearing your thoughts and ideas concerning Sanji's being mute, and I'm looking forward to your reactions on later chapters. :)

Note: Several of you have mentioned your theories on this story's zombie lore, and yes, to answer some questions, I do like the thought of zombies being in different stages of decomposition depending on when they were infected or when they died. I've always thought that an actual zombie virus would effect people differently. Things like age, weight, level of hydration at the time of death/infection would no doubt have an impact on how the body reacted.

But anyway, maybe someday I'll write an actual book or something and I can go into detail about those kinds of things. For now though, this is just an excuse to mix my ZoroxSanji man porn with another genre I love. Haha.

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**Chapter 3**

"A few miles" turned out to be almost ninety. That was fine, he had been moving north anyway.

Zoro wasn't sure what he had expected, but he did know that a walled-in community was not even close. The dirt path they had driven in ended at a gate manned by a few guards with crossbows. When the gates opened, they were ushered inside to a second gate, and this one did not open until the first was closed. Smart. Inside the setting was like one of those religious compounds you used to see on the news or bad horror movies. A church stood central, surrounded by buildings that looked like community areas. There were several other structures, no doubt being used as living quarters, plus what looked like a library, and towards the back was a large garden, and a stone well. The best part was the entire complex was surrounded by a twenty foot brick wall, reinforced with barbed wire and a guard tower every two-hundred or so yards.

"Nice set up."

Law grinned at him from the passenger seat. "Found it empty a few months back. Well, besides the cult that had all committed suicide in the church together."

"Jesus, don't talk about that," Usopp muttered.

"Anyway, we have about sixty people, give or take a few drifters here and there."

"A little dangerous, isn't it?" Zoro asked, "Bringing in people you don't know?"

Law waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, but the alternative is not bringing in people."

Usopp pulled the truck into a spot between another two vehicles and killed the engine. "I'm gonna head over to the armory, I'll meet up with you later."

Nodding, Law opened his own door, "Got it."

Zoro put his hand to the door handle but hesitated when he glanced over at Sanji. The blond was curled up in his jacket, the lower half of his face hidden under his scarf. The man was fast asleep.

"Just give him a nudge," Law said as he pulled himself out of the truck and stretched. "Stay with him and help get those bags to the mess hall, then he can show you where you'll sleep. I'll be around."

With that, Law slammed the door shut and Zoro was left alone in the truck with the strange, sleeping mute. He turned back to watch dark eyelashes flutter beneath pale eyelids and he sighed softly. What was here doing here? He had enough food and water to last a while, a few things to trade, he didn't need anything from these people. What was the point of coming here, to this compound? Zoro was a drifter, a wanderer. Staying in one place for too long had proved time and time again to be dangerous and stupid. Movement kept you alive, and people were almost always not to be trusted.

So what was he thinking now?

Zoro watched Sanji's chest rise and fall in that steady, rhythmic way that only true sleep can manage. He began to wonder if his sudden interest in persons other than himself was because of this man. This Sanji had demonstrated a physical ability that was almost supernatural. He obviously had training in gymnastics, martial arts, or something of that nature, and Zoro was interested in finding out what it was.

It was also hard to ignore the fact that Sanji wasn't at all hard to look at, definitely handsome, especially when those blue eyes were fixed on you. The fact that he didn't speak also kind of added to the allure.

Reaching out, Zoro carefully nudged Sanji's arm. The blond stirred and opened his eyes, turning to look at Zoro quizzically.

"We're here, and I guess I've sort of been assigned to you."

Sanji nodded and rubbed his eyes. He opened the door and pulled himself out of the truck, stretching his long legs and rotating his waist and shoulders. Zoro followed, pulling his pack from the backseat and keeping a steady hold on his sword. He surveyed his surroundings with far more interest than he showed, noting reinforcements of either logs or steel pipes had been added onto the walls in several places. There seemed to be a lot of children and older folks out and about too. How had they managed to save so many kids?

Sanji set one of the duffle bags at his feet, and Zoro lifted it without hesitation. "I'm assuming this is all food."

Nodding, Sanji turned and started toward one of the long, wider buildings that surrounded the church. People waved to him as he passed, shouting greetings and welcome returns. The blond waved back but did not stop. He seemed to have a kind of single-mindedness when it came to that food and it made Zoro wonder if maybe he was in charge of this group's supplies.

The dining hall was clean and orderly and the kitchen was spotless. Zoro had never been in one of these full service kitchens before, but he could tell by the state of the machinery and the cleanliness of the tiled floor that it was well kept. Sanji did not turn on the lights, so Zoro had no way of knowing yet if this compound had power, but the windows were high and wide, giving the area sufficient lighting. Sanji led him to the storeroom in back and with a box of matches he retrieved from a shelf, lit a large oil lamp.

For a moment, Zoro could only stand and stare. He had not seen this much food in one spot in a very long time. Cans of soup, beans, and even corned beef lined the shelves. There was a bag or two of rice, and boxes of bread mixes stacked on crates in the corner. He was still gaping as Sanji opened his bag and started unloading his haul.

It took almost forty minutes because Sanji had to keep stopping and making notes on his clipboard, but the two of them unloaded the bags and completed the inventory without a fuss. Before he knew it, Zoro had decided that he liked Sanji's company. He was smart and no nonsense, and despite the fact that he couldn't speak, he communicated easily with gestures and nods or shakes of his head.

"Hey," Zoro said as they put the duffle bags away, "How do you… I mean what do you do when you want to tell someone something? Or ask someone a question?"

Sanji opened the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small notepad and pen. He scribbled a few words on the paper and then showed it to Zoro.

_Smoke signals, obviously._ Was written in a neat, all capitol scrawl.

Zoro chuckled. "Okay, smartass. What's with the curly eyebrows?"

Sanji scribbled a few words and set the pad down on the prep table in front of Zoro with a smile.

_What's with the green hair?_

"It's not dyed."

_Bullshit._

Zoro sighed, no one ever believed him when he told them it was natural. "It's a trick of your own eye. I have some kind of rare amino deficiency in my scalp. It kills the red, turns it yellow. It reacts to the blue-black I got from my Japanese mother and makes it seem green."

Eyes narrowing, Sanji crossed his arms and moved in close. Zoro tensed; he was not expecting that. The only bodies he had been close to in the last few months had been rotting, clicking, corpses, and he had taken care of those in a swift, bloody manner. This was different. This was strange and somewhat exciting. Zoro had almost forgotten what it was like to be in this proximity to something that was just as alive as he was. He swallowed, gripped the edge of the table behind him and watched Sanji's blue eyes study his hair up close. Holding his breath, Zoro was suddenly and inexplicably conscious of the fact that he had not bathed in several weeks.

Finally, Sanji shrugged and picked up his notepad.

_Stranger things have happened._

Letting out that breath, Zoro could only nod in agreement. His mouth had suddenly gone very dry.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Wow! Such great reviews! Thank you so much!

I'm surprised by how many SanjixLaw shippers there are out there. It's almost like you readers would rather read a fic about them! Sorry to disappoint you though, Sanji and Law are not a thing in this story, they are just good friends. Good, platonic friends. There are other, more flamboyant characters out there that are more to Law's liking. I will leave you to speculate on that. :) Enjoy.

Notes: In answer to a few questions: Law's reference to "Dead Day" means the day the zombie virus/plague started, or at least, the day it was first documented. It has been 185 days since then, as stated in the first chapter. Also, no, the rare amino deficiency Zoro has that makes his hair seem green does not exist. I made that shit up.

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**Chapter 4**

Pocketing the pad of paper Sanji turned to head back into the store room. He pulled a box from the shelf and after making a note on the clipboard, brought it out and passed Zoro to head towards the front of the kitchen. He took a tall small kettle from a shelf and filled it with water before setting it on a small campground gas grill. After flicking the switch he pulled the notepad from his pocket again.

_Coffee or tea?_

Zoro smirked, "Whiskey."

Sanji grinned and scribbled furiously.

_Agreed. But not until you're assigned a bunk, a job, and you've seen our doctor._

"Why do I need to see your doctor? I'm not sick."

Sanji rolled his eyes. _Rules._

Zoro shrugged, "Whatever. I don't have anything that can't be cured with a little soap."

Smiling, Sanji pulled a container down from the shelf above them and retrieved a small packet. He then grabbed a mug from the rack behind them. He emptied the packet's contents into the mug, and filled it with a small amount of hot water from the kettle. After crushing and stirring the mixture with a spoon, he filled the mug the rest of the way and handed it to Zoro.

Mildly surprised, Zoro took the mug and brought it to his lips. He breathed in that familiar, earthy, aroma before taking a sip. He let it sink in. That warmth, that soothing taste of roasted bean attacked his taste buds causing a shiver to roll pleasantly down his back.

"Wow," Zoro murmured, "I haven't had coffee in... a long time."

He downed another swallow, uncaring that it burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He watched absently as Sanji opened the box he had brought from the store room and milled about adding powder and sugar and some kind of extracts to the mixture. His hands moved with such a precision, such knowing and care to the craft that when the realization hit Zoro it seemed almost stupidly obvious.

Sanji was a _cook_.

That's why he cared so much about the food. That's why he was so attentive with the recording of the supplies. It was why he seemed so at home in the kitchen, and why this coffee was the _best damn thing Zoro had ever tasted_.

He did not ask questions as Sanji worked, and said nothing as Sanji took his empty mug and placed it in the sink. He followed without a word as Sanji took the kettle, a clean mug, and another spoon and stepped back out to the outside. The blond headed in the direction of the church and Zoro followed like an obedient dog. It couldn't be helped though, not only had Sanji given him coffee, but he had also alluded to the fact that there was whiskey. Zoro was resigned to do whatever his new friend wanted him to do if it meant there was a chance he would be given alcohol.

The company was not at all unpleasant either.

The church's sanctuary was empty. There were none of the classic rows of pews and no pulpit for the pastor or priest to stand. The religious paraphernalia had been removed, for the most part, and the entire area smelled faintly of lemons and disinfectant. Sanji led him through to the back and opened a door labeled "Offices". Down a short hallway and to the left, Sanji slowed and rapped his knuckles on a large wooden door standing wide open.

"Come in," said a light, but still obviously male, voice.

Sanji motioned Zoro to follow and entered the office. Sitting behind a wide desk was a young man with curly brown hair and large, brown eyes. He smiled wide when they entered.

"Hi Sanji!" he said brightly, "Who's this?"

Sanji set down the kettle and made a few small motions with his hand.

"Zoro?" he stood and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Chopper. I'm one of the doctors here."

Zoro raised an eyebrow as they shook hands, "Hey."

Chopper made another small gesture to Sanji, and the blond nodded. It took Zoro only a moment to realize what they were doing. He should have guessed that Sanji would know something like sign language. It was just another something to add to the list of things that made Sanji different and extremely interesting.

"He says you saved his team," Chopper said, not bothering to hide is awe.

Zoro shrugged. "I just lowered a ladder for them, that's all."

Sanji might have sniggered and Chopper eyed the cook with a small smirk, "You're right."

"Right about what?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing," Chopper shook his head, "So, rules are if you're here, I have to examine you."

Zoro might have tightened his grip on his bag. Just a little.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Twenty-six," Chopper said as he moved to a filing cabinet along the back wall, "I know I look pretty young but imagine what people were thinking when I was practicing at twenty."

"Shit," Zoro hadn't meant to be so crass, but that was impressive.

"Are you going to be staying?" Chopper asked as he opened a drawer and pulled out a thin, green folder.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe a little while?"

Chopper nodded as he came back to the desk. "That's good, we can always use another set of strong hands—woa, Sanji what is this?" The doctor's eyes widened as Sanji pressed a mug of something steaming and sweet-smelling into his hands. Chopper sniffed at it and took a small sip. "Holy shit… oh my God, Sanji, is this _chocolate!?_"

Zoro glanced at Sanji who was smiling softly behind his fringe of blond hair. The cook left the kettle on the desk and moved out of the office. He made himself comfortable in one of the chairs in the hallway and rested one ankle on the knee of the opposite leg. He saluted Zoro before settling back and closing his eyes.

"Oh wow…" Chopper's eyes fluttered closed as he blew on the hot drink and took another careful sip. "Oh my gosh, okay hold on, I just need a moment."

Zoro took another glance at Sanji who might have been hiding half of a satisfied smirk underneath his scarf.

"Thank you, Sanji!" Chopper exclaimed before he returned his attention to his patient. "Okay now you, Zoro, close the door and take off your jacket. Oh wow, do you have some kind of phaeomelanin mutation?"

An hour later, after being poked and prod and basically manhandled by the pushy doctor half his size, Zoro was released. As he strapped his sword to his back and pulled his pack on, Chopper opened the door and ushered him out with a sweet smile and instructions to bathe. When the door closed he turned to Sanji.

"He's a… firecracker."

Sanji showed off perfectly white teeth as he nodded, then he rubbed at his eyes and pulled himself slowly to his feet. The notepad came out of his pocket and he scribbled a few words before he flipped it around to show Zoro.

_Gotta find you a bunk before I make dinner._

Zoro nodded, "And a shower, doctor's orders."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Holy cow thank you for all the reviews! I can't believe you readers like this so much! It makes me feel so good hearing the things you like, and again, I love reading all your ideas and thoughts and theories!

Okay, on to questions: I don't have a specific idea of how the apocalypse started, not for this story anyway. There are so many great ideas out there, and while I am a lover of the virus origin idea (for example chemical or biological warfare), I can't really get behind any of the plausible scenarios. I don't really think it matters all that much though since it's unlikely our protagonists would know how everything happened anyway. I will leave it to your imaginations. As for Chopper, it's really unrealistic to have him be a practicing doctor in his teens, and I wanted him to have some experience before this all happened, so yes, he is a little older than Sanji and Zoro in this story, but only by a couple of years. No, the inspiration for this story was not any one particular zombie media, I take the parts I like from pretty much everything I've ever watched/read.

Keep bringing on the ideas of why Sanji doesn't/can't talk! I love reading them!

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**Chapter 5**

_Day one-hundred ninety-one._

It was like a dance.

Sanji watched as Zoro's blade sliced through another rotting, walking corpse, and the thing fell gracefully at his feet like some kind of choreographed waltz. A second, and then a third went down, all from a smooth series of short, flowing strokes. Zoro was a master at his art, the blade being just an extension of his body. It was incredible to watch, soothing really, enough that Sanji had started to wonder about his mental state. What did it mean when, besides cooking, your favorite pastime became watching someone cut through dead bodies like they were made of butter?

Usopp pulled the truck through the gates and Zoro started loading Deadies into the bed. Once the group was gathered up, Usopp and Zoro would take them to The Pit, an eighteen foot trench about a mile up the road. There they would unload the bodies and burn them. This process had to be done a few times a week to prevent the Deadies from piling up outside the compound. The more Deadies in one place, the more likely there would be more coming. Best to keep the numbers under control.

Zoro had volunteered for gate duty, which had not surprised Sanji once he really thought about it. Zoro was good at what he did, and so it made sense for him to have a job where he could excel.

"Hey there, Sanji!"

Turning from his perch on the wall, Sanji plucked the cigarette from his lips and waved down to his friend Ace as he passed by. The man's dark hair fluttered in the gentle breeze as he grinned underneath what seemed like a thousand freckles.

"Zoro!" Ace called, "Hey, I got it!"

Zoro stopped in the middle of situating a body in the back of the truck and turned to meet Ace's enthusiastic greetings.

"Hey, Ace."

Zoro had only been with the camp for a week, but he had fast become something of a celebrity, first, with the story of how he had saved their beloved leader and the rest of his team, and then with the element of his hair being actually green. Apparently, most people had thought that was a biological impossibility until recently. The fact that he could kill a Deadie quicker than most was a nice bonus.

All of those things were great, the green hair was interesting, and Deadie-killing skills were definitely a nice bonus, but Sanji's interest in the camp's newest addition was a little different. To Sanji, Zoro was a breath of fresh air. He was tactful and minded his own business when it came to certain personal matters. Zoro had never asked Sanji about why he didn't talk. He had never mentioned the fact that Sanji wore a scarf twenty-four hours a day, and had never asked him why. That small bit of space, that tiny bit of privacy in a world where telling your life story to strangers was sometimes a way to keep yourself alive, was so important. Sanji was so grateful for it.

Puffing on the last bit of cigarette, Sanji crushed the butt out between his thumb and middle finger and watched his friends talk excitedly over a new sword sling Ace had made for Zoro.

"This way it won't slide down when you reach up," Ace explained. "This part here will go across your chest and hold the whole thing in place."

Smiling, Sanji tossed the butt and climbed down the ladder.

"Sanji?" a small voice made him turn around. One of the camp's children, a little girl by the name of Apis, was waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder.

Sanji hopped to the ground at her feet and waved a hello.

"Hi Sanji. Miss Robin sent me out of class to see Dr. Chopper because I have a cough. He gave me this."

She held up a small slip of paper and Sanji took it.

_She needs lemon tea. – Chopper_

Sanji nodded, smiling at Apis and motioning for her to follow him to the kitchen. He gave her a few bags of the dried lemon tea and brewed a cup to take back to her bunk. After writing a note for her mother he sent her off with a hug.

"You sure like kids."

Sanji turned and met with Zoro's soft smile. He had his sword strapped into the new harness. The buckles across his chest and the thick leather of the straps, combined with the black, long sleeved, military sweater, made him look nothing less than completely bad ass. It wasn't fair.

Glancing over to where Usopp was parking the truck, Sanji pulled out his notepad and scribbled a few words.

_That was fast._

Zoro shrugged, "Ace helped. He said Law wanted to talk to us as soon as possible."

Eyebrows lifting, Sanji turned and started to head toward the infirmary, writing as he walked.

_We in some sort of trouble? What did you do?_

Zoro scoffed, "I didn't do anything. If anyone's in trouble it's you, shit-cook."

Law's office was in the infirmary and down the hall from Chopper's. Before Dead Day, Law had also been a doctor, but his area of experience had been pathology and so his medical role in the camp was more of a backup. He tended to injuries and was available for consultations, but his days as a full time practitioner were over—especially since the people of the compound thought of him first and foremost as their leader.

Zoro knocked on the office door but Sanji paid no mind to interruption and went right in. Sitting on the cushioned chair in front of Law's desk, Sanji slipped his hands into his pockets and hunkered down. Hopefully this would be interesting enough that he wouldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that he had no respect for Law, quite the opposite in fact. Law and Sanji had the utmost respect for each other. It was just that Sanji was alive because of Law, and Law was alive because of Sanji. Relationships like that tended to look past basic formalities. Besides, he was tired. Sanji was always tired.

Zoro however, waited politely at the door until Law invited him in with a smirk and a tilt of his head. He sat down next to Sanji and rested his elbows on his knees.

Rubbing at his eyes, Law leaned back in his chair. "We have a small problem."

Sanji straightened. Law was very understated most of the time and so it was possible "small problem" could mean "small catastrophe".

"There's a minor lung infection going around. Chopper and I didn't think anything of it at first, it was just a cough, but five people are bedridden already. We need antibiotics and we need them fast. This thing is going to spread until there's no one left to properly defend this place."

"Where the hell do we get antibiotics?" Zoro asked.

"Most of the pharmacies in the big cities have been cleaned out," Law said, "we've checked. Chopper says there are clinics in some of the smaller towns north of here that might have what we're looking for."

Dreading what Law was probably about to tell them, he pulled out his pad and scribbled a few words before flipping it around for Law to see.

"Yeah," Law nodded after he read what Sanji wrote, "Red Brook or North Grove is exactly what I was thinking."

Sanji sighed and nodded as he slipped the pad back into his pocket.

"What's wrong with those towns?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing's wrong with the towns," Law explained, "It's getting there that's a bitch. Between here and where you need to go is pretty much badlands, nothing but biker gangs and doomsday cults. That's why I'm only sending the two of you. A group of people would attract too much attention. You'd have to take a car or a truck and most vehicles can't get anywhere on the interstates. If it's just you both, you can take Sanji's bike and travel the I-5. A motorcycle can get through most of the jams, and if it can't, you can off-road it. You'll be harder to track and even harder to follow."

Sanji let his head fall against the back of the chair. Travelling through the badlands was not his favorite pastime, but there were worse things. He glanced over at Zoro who was staring thoughtfully down at his knuckles. What kind of things had Zoro seen since Dead Day? What kind of events had shaped the swordsman's current life?

"What about East?" Zoro asked.

"It's all Deadie territory. Nevada is completely overrun. And if you manage to get past that you'll head straight into high radiation zones in Utah and Arizona."

Zoro nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, so north is the only option. What if these clinics Chopper is thinking of have been cleaned out already? What if we get all the way up to Washington and there's nothing?"

Sighing softly, Law lifted his hands in surrender. "You're just going to have to keep going until you find something."

Sanji watched the two as they talked. Throughout the conversation, Sanji had detected a tension setting into Zoro's shoulders and now that tension was so strong the cook could feel it himself. It was almost as if it radiated off Zoro's body like heat.

Struck with a thought, Sanji sat forward and wrote something on his pad. He flipped it around for Law to see and waited impatiently as Law took it in.

_What about Zoro? He's not obligated to do that for us. How can you ask him to do something like that?_

Sighing, Law ran a hand through his hair. "He has a choice," he murmured, looking from Sanji to Zoro.

"What?" Zoro asked, frowning.

Slumping into his chair, Law held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "You've only been here a week, and you sure as hell don't owe us anything, but I can't ignore the fact that you handle yourself well. So I'm asking you if you'd go on this mission with Sanji. _Asking_. You can say no."

Zoro's eyes were dark and faintly intense as he turned to look at Sanji. The cook held his gaze for several long seconds. He didn't want to sway Zoro's decision, and he in no way wanted to make the swordsman feel like there was any obligation on his part, he had after all saved them, but he couldn't keep himself from pleading silently. He had felt more comfortable in the last week with Zoro than he had in months. He felt safer, _happier_.

Zoro seemed to understand him better than anyone else since the world had gone to shit, and Sanji wanted him to stay. He had already lost so much; he did not want to lose that too.

Pulling his gaze away from Sanji, Zoro turned back to Law and nodded.

"I'll go. Cook's a fucking idiot and would probably get himself killed."

Sanji leaned back in the chair and hid the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth behind his scarf.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

I'm blushing you guys, seriously, I can't take the compliments! You're all so wonderful!

I am forever humbled by how many people have reviewed saying they don't like the horror/zombie genre but are still liking my story. Thank you so much for giving it a chance. Horror is my favorite genre and I have wanted to test my horror-writing for so long. All you amazing readers have really made it worth it, so wow, thank you! Oh and also, apologies. I actually finished this last night, but I was too tired to post it.

Questions: Oh my god you're ideas for why Sanji is mute keep getting better! Still not even close, but I love them all just the same. (I'm worried that you're going to find out what happened and it won't even be as cool as some of the reader's ideas, hehe.) A general theory I have received a few times is that Sanji is immune to the zombie virus/plague. I can tell you now that, while the idea is interesting, it's not the case. Sanji would be infected if he was bitten just like anyone else. Also, I love writing from Law's pov, but alas, in this fic I'm keeping it strictly Sanji and Zoro.

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**Chapter 6**

They pushed through northern California and made it into the southwestern part of Oregon the first day. Law had been right, the motorcycle made it easy to bypass parts of the highway clogged by obstacles such as collections of abandoned cars or bridges that were all but completely collapsed.

For most of the drive Zoro just leaned back and enjoyed the sun and the wind in his face. It was cold, maybe thirty-five or forty degrees, but the swordsman didn't care. It had been a long time since he had been on a bike; a long time since he'd had the freedom of relaxation during travel.

And an even longer time since the warmth of another body had been pressed up against him.

Having Sanji this close was an unexpected problem. He was lean and hard all over, and the way his body moved as he drove was extremely distracting. Sexuality had never been a consideration for Zoro. He had always just liked who he liked and never questioned, so he had no reservations about being attracted to a man. The problem was timing. Things like the way Sanji's hair fell into his eyes, or the way his lips curled up into a smile when he thought no one was looking, where getting difficult to ignore.

Lobito was not a problem Zoro had figured he'd have to deal with in the aftermath of the world ending, but apparently, it was still a thing.

As the sun started to set, they turned off the interstate and headed down the curve into what should have once been Cedar Creek, a small town along the Oregon coast. It was unlikely there would be anything they would need there, but it would be stupid not to at least check.

Chopper had given them a series of maps pinpointing the exact locations of several clinics and pharmacies. Now, Zoro pulled the map for Cedar creek from his bag and unfolded it to check the roads. However, even though Chopper and Law had given him a quick rundown, he could not make heads or tails of anything. English was his second language and although he was technically fluent, for some reason, maps had just never made sense to him. Not that maps in Japanese were any easier.

"I have no idea where we are," he muttered.

Snickering, Sanji lifted the visor on his helmet and reached around to take the map from Zoro's hands. The cook studied the indiscernible cluster-fuck of red and blue lines for perhaps fifteen seconds before he handed the map back to Zoro and kicked the motorcycle into first.

"Are you kidding me?" Zoro growled.

Sanji snickered again and pointed east behind a supermarket.

Zoro shook his head. "I don't believe you."

Sure enough, behind the supermarket, one street over, was a small pharmacy. As they pulled up Zoro noticed the windows had been knocked out and most of the merchandise was missing. Hopefully, there was still something in the back, but it wasn't very likely.

"You want me to watch the front?" Zoro asked.

Sanji nodded and handed the swordsman his helmet. He pulled a flashlight from his pack, climbed over the broken sill, and disappeared inside.

Zoro leaned against the bike, watching the sun slowly sink behind the top of the church a few blocks away. This had probably been a nice place at one time. A quiet neighborhood where kids could play in the streets and there were block parties and barbeques on weekends. Zoro could remember times like that back home in Hokkaido, when the summers were hot and the old man down the road made shaved ice for him as his friends at the dojo.

Shaking his head, Zoro pushed those memories back where they couldn't haunt him so loudly. According to the news reports right before the nationwide outage, Japan had been all but decimated. The last thing Zoro needed at that moment was to think about home.

Quiet footsteps and a rustling of paper pulled the swordsman's attention back to the pharmacy. Sanji was climbing back through the broken window, his pack in his hands.

"You find anything?"

Sanji nodded and showed him the inside of his pack. A few bottles of pain killers and several boxes of feminine products filled the outer pocket.

Zoro nodded, "Wow, not bad, cook. At least you're covered for your next period."

Sanji gave him the bird and they both climbed onto the bike. They were out of Cedar Creek and back onto the highway just as the last sliver of sun sank behind the horizon.

The next town they fared better, but only slightly. Sanji was able to recover a few boxes of nasal decongestant, and six bottles of cold remedy. It wasn't much, but it was definitely better than nothing.

As they traveled farther north, the highway became less and less of an abandoned car graveyard. It was a blessing really, because a thick fog had set in and it was getting difficult for Zoro to see his hand in front of his face. The motorcycle's headlight illuminated only a few yards in front of them, so Sanji slowed to around twenty miles per hour until they reached the next stop on their list.

Roseburg was not, by definition, a small town, but neither was it a large one. There were three pharmacies and two clinics Chopper had marked on the map, easily accessible from the main drag. However, when they entered the town, Zoro realized right away that they were going to have to search on foot. The streets were barricaded with all manner of things: cars, large wooden crates, and other debris. There was no way the bike was going in. The people of this town had gone down, but they had gone down fighting.

Sanji parked the motorcycle behind a dilapidated tackle shop and motioned for Zoro to follow him. They kept their flashlights off and let their eyes adjust to the darkness. The fog wasn't as bad as it was out on the highway, and so the faint moonlight was sufficient in lighting their way.

They climbed the barricade and dropped silently onto the ground. Zoro drew his sword just in case, and Sanji pulled a wicked looking knife from his belt. Sanji indicated a side street with a nod of his head and Zoro followed.

When they neared the corner, a soft clicking stopped them in their tracks. Sanji adjusted his grip on the knife and crouched low to the pavement. Staying silent, Zoro moved and pressed himself up against the side of the building.

A quick look around the corner and Sanji turned back to him, indicating "four" with his fingers. Zoro nodded and stepped out into the street.

The first "Deadie", as he found Sanji's group liked to call them, had once been a woman, small in stature, with dark, brown hair. Zoro swung and dropped her easily, the only sound was her body hitting the pavement. The second was a man, wide, with a beard down to its chest. Zoro's blade found a way out through the top of its head from underneath its chin. The swordsman lowered this one to the ground easily before retrieving his blade.

Sanji had moved across the street and was taking out the Deadie with blond, curly hair. Its massive body mad a soft splattering noise when it hit the ground. The fourth was easy, as its body was so rotted that its legs had come off somewhere long ago.

When they regrouped, Sanji was wiping the blade of the knife clean, and his eyes had a shocking brightness to them. Interestingly, Zoro couldn't decide if that was disturbing, or maybe just a little sexy.

The first of the marked pharmacies was just down the street a few yards. Sanji led the way, Zoro close at his heels, searching the shadows and open doorways for movement. Nothing appeared, so Zoro sheathed his blade and followed Sanji through the door.

Inside was like a storm had swept through. Nothing was on the shelves, and any supplies or materials that were left were broken or scattered across the floor. Sanji took a quick inventory, searching the shelves and climbing over the pharmacy counter to check the back. There was no obvious threat to face, no time constraint, but Zoro felt an inexplicable urgency, and he was sure Sanji felt it too. Something was coming, and they needed to get what they needed and get out fast.

Climbing back over the counter, Sanji shook his head.

"Damn," Zoro muttered.

Heading back to the front, Zoro was hit again with another sense of intense urgency. It was a crawling, itching, almost painful wave of dread that came over him so suddenly it took him by surprise. He slowed, and grabbed Sanji's sleeve.

"Wait."

Sanji turned to him, confusion in his eyes, but he stopped.

"Be careful, I got a weird feeling."

Nodding, Sanji crouched low and peered around the edge of the isle. Zoro slipped in behind him and looked towards the entrance.

There were at least twenty Deadies pressed against the glass of the pharmacy's front side. Their dried, blood-caked fingers scratched absently at the window, and their open, slack lips flapped as their teeth clicked together.

"Holy shit," Zoro whispered, "where the hell did they come from?"

Sanji stood and looked up, searching. He turned and motioned Zoro to follow him towards the back of the store. Zoro followed the cook through the "employee only" doors and out into the freight bay. Sanji pointed to the far side of the bay were a ladder led to a door above the scaffolding. With any luck that door would open to the roof.

Zoro clapped Sanji on the shoulder and started toward the ladder.

Cold hands came at his face and Zoro recoiled. A Deadie shambled out of the shadows, teeth yellowed and eyes sunken back into hollow sockets. Sanji took out its legs and the thing met its end on the tip of Zoro's blade. It had all happened within a span of a few seconds, but the swordsman was sure he would feel those dead, chilled fingers on his skin for a long time.

The door was locked, but Sanji made that seem sort of trivial as he kicked the thing out with minimal effort. Another set of stairs awaited and beyond that was thankfully the roof.

"Shit…" Zoro murmured as he looked over the side. Deadies had swarmed, almost completely surrounding the building. They were trapped unless they could get over to the next structure, but the gap was easily over twenty feet.

Where had they all come from? How had they found them? Had they all just been sitting around silently waiting like some sort of impossible beyond the grave trap?

Sanji ran a hand over his mouth as he turned around, searching for another escape.

"Do you think we could…"

At that moment, when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse, Zoro heard a sound that froze his blood, a sound that he had never expected. Sanji turned to him, his pale skin turning to ash, his eyes wide in alarm.

The sound was the rev of a motorcycle engine.

Someone was stealing their ride.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Hello again, everyone! Hope you all had a good New Years. I'm back on track with the writing! Going to try and get a chapter out at least every other day this week. They're short enough that is a realistic goal. I think? Really really appreciate all your comments and reviews! They're still flooding in, it's overwhelming sometimes! Thank you, thank you!

On to questions: No, the Deadies I have described are not actual OP characters, it's just general description. Yes, my theory is that if zombies rot at all, they will eventually rot into nothing. Yes, what's going on with Sanji involves the scarf, but not in the way most of you have guessed.

Thank you to **xxShinxx** and **smoking caramels** for pointing out typos. I'll get to those someday. Also, haha, **Sayichi** I'm sorry this hits close to home! I didn't know I had any readers in Oregon! That's great! I hope my description of the town isn't completely off!

Enjoy! This chapter is a little longer than the others. Also, no apologies for the content. If you're writing these particular characters and not having at least a little fun, you're probably doing something wrong.

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**Chapter 7**

The motorcycle revved again, the sound echoing through the streets, bouncing off the high brick walls and tumbling down towards the town square.

Zoro took another glance over the side of the building. The Deadies were still massing, pushing against each other trying to get up and into windows. There was a steady flow, no opening to drop down into without risking being overtaken immediately. Not to mention possibly breaking a leg. It was a good thirty-five feet to the street.

"Okay, well," Zoro said, "I thought I saw awnings above the windows at the front. You wanna try jumping from those? Making a break for it?"

Sanji moved with him to check the front of the building. The awnings were about halfway down, so they could easily land on them and springboard off to the ground. Unfortunately, the Deadies had swarmed into a big enough group that it was unlikely either one of them would clear it.

"Shit."

There was really nothing they could do, short of jumping anyway and taking out as many as they could, or possibly waiting it out. Looking at Sanji, the swordsman met his friend's gaze and knew that was exactly what the cook was thinking as well. Hell, there were worse ways to go, right?

But then something changed. Sanji blinked, frowning thoughtfully into the space beside Zoro. His head tilted, his ears listening for something Zoro had been too preoccupied to hear moments before.

Singing.

Someone was singing. Loudly.

"_I'm Henry The Eighth, I am!  
Henry The Eighth I am, I am!"_

The singing, along with the hum of the motorcycle engine, was coming closer.

"_I got married to the widow next door  
She's been married seven times before  
And every one was an Henry HENRY!"_

Zoro was caught somewhere in uncertain territory between angry and slightly amused. What the hell was going on?

"What is that?"

Sanji just smiled and pointed down the road.

Coming towards them, riding Sanji's bike, was a large figure in what Zoro thought might have been a blue leather jacket. He had on a pair of triangle sunglasses and a Santa hat that blinked red and green. He road slowly, singing loud and merrily as he neared the mass of Deadies.

"_She wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam-no Sam!  
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry  
Henry The Eighth I aaaam!_

_Second verse, same as the first!_  
_I'm Henry The Eighth, I am!_  
_Henry The Eighth I am, I am…"_

Bloodied fingers stopped scraping the brick and sunken eyes turned from the pharmacy building. Several Deadies started to break away, shambling after the noise and flashing lights. There were a few that stayed, still trying to climb to the roof, possibly because they were so decayed they no longer held the capacity to hear the noise, but the majority of the swarm pushed from the wall and followed Sanji and Zoro's rescuer down the street.

"Sanji!" a voice called from the ally, "Sanji! Over here!"

The cook sprinted toward the edge and motioned Zoro to follow. When the swordsman leaned over, he was met with bright eyes and a wide smile beneath a mop of black hair.

"Hi, Sanji's friend!" the young man said, "I'm Luffy!"

Zoro nodded cautiously, "Zoro."

A tall figure next to Luffy looked around and motioned with a jerk of his head. "Hurry up!"

Luffy's companion was well hidden underneath a black jacket and hood, but when he glanced up Zoro noticed metal gleaming from the man's nose.

"Jump down here!" Luffy exclaimed, "I can catch you!"

Sanji might have snickered as he climbed over the side and hung off the ledge. He slid down and into the pierced man's arms, toppling them both to the ground.

"_Oof!_ Ow, Sanji you're heavy!"

"Come on, Zoro!" Luffy called.

Zoro readied himself, but stopped when several shambling figures rounded the corner. Luffy's cries must have alerted the Deadies still clinging to the front of the building.

"Behind you," Zoro said.

Luffy glanced down the alley, noting the four figures headed towards him, and nonchalantly closed the distance. His fist went through the first, splattering what was left of brain and skull onto the street. The next two he kicked the legs out from under them and crushed their heads underneath his foot. The fourth met the brick of the building with his face.

It was efficient, even if it was messy. Zoro was impressed; he had never seen anyone kill Deadies with their bare hands before.

"Come on down!" Luffy called.

Without another hesitation, Zoro climbed over the side and jumped onto the shoulders of the young man beneath him. Surprisingly, Luffy held his weight just fine and stayed steady so the swordsman could drop to the ground. How that was possible, Zoro was not sure. He easily had a hundred pounds on his smiling rescuer.

"All right, let's get the fuck out of here!" the pierced man whispered, before he turned and made his way towards the back of the pharmacy. Sanji followed him, and so Zoro followed Sanji. Several sprawled and partially decapitated Deadies lay strewn about as they rounded the corner, but nothing moved except another tall figure in a dark jacket.

He seemed to have been waiting for them, his blond hair stood in spikes, and a large scar in the shape of an _X_ decorated his chin.

"Hey, Sanji," he grinned.

Saluting, Sanji grinned at the blond man as he fell into step with the cook. They were apparently being led toward the water tower at the edge of town, and so Zoro gripped his sword and watched their flank as they sprinted across the street. A small swarm of Deadies was making their way towards them from the east side. The west side was barricaded.

Pushing through an overgrowth of hedges, Zoro spotted another three bikes. Not classic style like Sanji's, but more modern, probably modified versions of Hondas or Kawasaki. They seemed like they were in good shape, just dusty from the roads.

"Sanji, you ride with Bartolomeo!" Luffy instructed, "Zoro, you can ride with me!"

Sanji climbed up behind Bartolomeo and the pierced man kicked into gear. Zoro threw a leg over the machine behind Luffy and held on as the kid revved the engine and pulled out into the street. They turned east, heading straight towards the wall of clicking, creeping death.

"Luffy," Zoro growled, "what the hell are you doing? There's like fifty of them!"

"Hey, man," Luffy called over his shoulder, "you got a sword! Cut 'em down!" His hair whipped against his forehead as he spoke, his teeth flashed from between his smile. He was apparently enjoying this.

It was stupid, and it was reckless, but Zoro couldn't deny that on some level, he was enjoying this a little as well. As they neared the swarm, Zoro repositioned himself, readied his katana low and behind him, and braced for impact. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Sanji doing the same thing, readying his knife to strike as they blew through.

Three shots rang out and three Deadies fell to the ground, giving their group strategically placed openings to weave through. Zoro glanced to his left, surprised to see the man with the X scar holding a pistol. Guns, or more specifically—ammo, were a rarity and were usually more dangerous than helpful. However, in a situation like this they were invaluable.

Cold, thick, blood sprayed across Zoro's chin as his blade sliced through rotted flesh. He came around and swung again, this time high enough to reach a second Deadie's throat. A trachea collapsed and a spinal cord gave like a cheap bamboo post.

Luffy maneuvered the bike through the swarm, bending and weaving, effectively avoiding grasping hands and broken, clicking teeth. Unfortunately, as they closed in on the edge of the group, the Deadies started to cluster, packing in, making it difficult to keep their speed. A large one, mostly intact, came at them with arms flailing, jaw missing, and tongue hanging down into a bloody mess of torn flesh. It reached over the pressing form of two other Deadies, stumped fingers reached for Luffy's head.

Zoro cut it down. Two decayed hands flew, one was lost in the swarm, the other rolled below and was trampled by the back tire of Luffy's bike.

"We made it!" Bartolomeo shouted. "Luffy are you okay!?"

"I'm awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, "Zoro's a badass! Drake?"

"I'm good."

Zoro looked over at Sanji. The cook was a mess of dark blood, it was splattered across his face and in his hair. Something had gotten ahold of his jacket; Zoro could see that one of the outside pockets had been ripped off. He was wearing a smile however, and when he looked up to meet Zoro's eyes, that smile widened.

Sanji had enjoyed that too.

They slowed to a crawl to move safely through the street. There were less abandoned cars and felled telephone posts as they neared the town's limits, but there was more of the smaller debris. Crates and garbage cans dotted the concrete, as did tires, piles of stone or brick, and broken fences.

"Oh, shit."

Drake's voice could barely be heard over the roar of their engines, but the awe in his tone was obvious. Their group stopped and Zoro looked to where Drake was indicating.

Another wall of Deadies was headed for them, being led by the eccentric with the Santa hat. He was still singing, riding slowly enough that the swarm could follow him. When the man spotted them, he waved.

"Hi Franky!" Luffy shouted.

"Come on Luffy!" Bartolomeo growled, "Let's do this! They're waiting!"

"All right! Let's go!" Luffy revved his engine and took off down the street. The others followed and the fourth man, whom Zoro surmised was Franky, pulled out and joined them.

When they passed the town's limits, a man with long blond hair and a black mask covering most of his face was waiting for them. He pulled out, joining their group, and raised a flare gun over his head. Zoro watched behind them as the man aimed high, and the flare shot out of the barrel and into the sky.

For a few short moments, Zoro watched as the town was illuminated in bright, artificial light. It was nostalgic, seeing the buildings and streets clearly in the middle of the night. It was something Zoro had not seen in a long time. Something he never really considered he would miss.

A roar sounded from ahead of them, and when the swordsman turned back, he was momentarily stunned.

A truck had pulled out, apparently from behind the nearby gas station. It sat high on tractor tires, and by the sound of it, boasted an engine that was not made for so small a vehicle. All manner of rails and spikes had been added as either a flamboyant protection, or possibly just an intimidation factor. Either way, it was a sight to see.

Luffy slid to a halt, and Bartolomeo and Drake followed suit. The truck met them on the road, turning slightly at an angle to the town. Zoro took a quick note of something like a smiley face with a stitched mouth painted on the driver's side door before out of the bed, a hulking figure with blazing red hair and a fur-collard coat rose up.

The man pulled a large metal tube from beside him and placed it on the railing. From what Zoro could see, there was some kind of makeshift lever and trigger system set up. The redhead pulled it, and the distinctive sound of a weapon being cocked rang out over the rumble of motorcycles engines.

"Oh shit," Zoro breathed.

He felt a hand on his arm, and then he was being pulled off the bike. It took Zoro a moment to realize it was only Sanji, and that they were moving towards the truck. The swordsman wasn't entirely sure that was where he wanted to be at the moment, but he found he trusted Sanji enough that he just let himself be pulled along.

A beautiful woman, also with flaming red hair, opened the truck's bed and smiled down them.

"Hey, Sanji," she said.

Sanji hoisted himself up and kissed the woman on the cheek. She chuckled and pushed him away.

"Gross, you're covered in blood."

Smiling, Sanji turned and gave Zoro a hand up. When they were situated in back, the tall redhead with the fur-lined jacket lined up his rocket launcher monstrosity. His teeth were white against red lips as his face pulled up in a maniacal grin.

"You ready, Kidd?" Luffy exclaimed.

The man with the launcher nodded. "Killer with you?" his voice was smoother than his looks.

"He's here!" Luffy reached out and clapped the masked man on the back.

Zoro looked from Kidd to the town. Deadies had swarmed together and were pouring out between what looked like a supply warehouse and an unnamed factory. If what he thought was about to happen, was indeed about to happen, then this group was insane.

"This isn't going to work," Zoro grumbled.

The woman patted him on the back, "Just watch. We know what we're doing."

Kidd situated the launcher on his shoulder, took a careful aim, and fired. There was a pop and a loud _bang!_ and the shell was off. It took maybe six seconds to reach its target, and when it did, all hell broke loose.

The initial explosion wasn't much. A few Deadies were knocked to the ground, some body parts went flying, but then the fire of the explosion seemed to intensify. It spread, gaining ground, licking at the concrete and tearing through the entire mass of walking corpses. The Deadies continued to pursue their prey, oblivious to the flames that were consuming them, but eventually, they all fell to the ground, their bodies charring black and burning down to nothing more than bones.

Luffy let out a whoop, and the others of the gang cheered. Zoro stood confused for a moment before he realized what had happened.

"Gasoline," he said simply.

The woman nodded her head. "We doused a good section of the ground over there. It doesn't burn for long, but anything caught in the blast is pretty much barbeque."

Zoro nodded as well, "Efficient."

"All right men!" Luffy called as he climbed back onto his bike, "Let's get moving! I'm hungry!"

Sanji sat, making himself comfortable next to Kidd, and so Zoro followed suit. The swordsman had no idea where they were headed or how long it would take to get there, but he was content to just sit next to the cook and go with the flow. Of course, this defeated the purpose of just the two of them alone on a bike, but it was also very unlikely any other gangs were going to attack them. Not with this crazy redheaded motherfucker and his tank of a truck. And bazooka.

Zoro turned to Sanji. The cook was wiping at his face with the sleeve of his coat. There was still red in his hair, but he had gotten most of it off his cheeks and chin.

"So," Zoro said as he folded his arms over his chest, "didn't know you were friends with The Road Warrior."

Sanji just flashed a toothy grin in his direction and, to Zoro's delight, rested against the swordsman's shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, these last few days have been amazing. Thank you so much for your reviews everyone, I can't believe how wonderful you all are! Your theories about Sanji's muteness are getting more and more interesting too. Someone got really close, actually two people got really close, but I'm not going to say who.

There were a lot of questions this time around, but I think most of them were answered in this chapter, so I'll leave those be and answer a few others. Someone asked about parings in this story: There are a couple parings besides Sanji and Zoro, but they are a tad unconventional, and also a secret. I'm saving the unveiling for later. Yes, I do like _Road Warrior_, I recommend both of them. Yes, I do have a favorite Zombie movie, actually, I have two: _28 Days Later_, and even though it's not technically a "zombie" movie, it comes close enough—_Pontypool_. No, Sanji is not a vampire (that was a good idea though). And last but not least: No, I don't plan on having this end tragically. I can't. I won't. It's not going to be rainbows and kittens, but I'm not killing off characters.

Please enjoy chapter eight! And again, thank you so much!

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**Chapter 8**

The red headed woman had introduced herself as "Nami" and had spent almost the entire ride, to wherever the hell there were going, staring at Zoro. That in itself had not been particularly disturbing, but the scrutinizing attention had finally gotten on the swordsman's last nerve when realized that freak Kidd was doing it too.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Zoro growled.

Kidd just glared at him, but Nami tilted her head to the side as she answered.

"We're just wondering who you are that you can get Sanji to do that."

"Do what?" Zoro asked.

"Sleep," Nami said.

Rolling his eyes, Zoro adjusted himself, and Sanji against him, as the truck hit another bump in the pavement. "I'm not even sure what that means. The shit cook sleeps all the time."

Nami's eyebrows lifted and her voice was breathy as she murmured, "Really?"

Chuckling, Kidd leaned in close to her and whispered.

"He called him 'shit cook'."

"Who are you people," Zoro asked, "How do you know Sanji?"

The corners of Nami's mouth turned up in a small smile. "Some of us go way back with Sanji, some even before Dead Day. He'd probably be running with us if he didn't feel so obligated to feed all those people that Law's saved."

That was interesting. Zoro was momentarily surprised to find himself a little jealous. This group had known Sanji before the world ended, and that meant that they probably knew a lot of things about the cook that Zoro did not. For example, what had Sanji been like before? Had he worked in a restaurant? Where had he lived? Was he seeing someone? Had he been able to speak at one time?

"Where are you taking us?" Zoro asked, trying to get his mind on something else.

"We have a temporary camp set up in the center of the Badlands," Nami said. "It's way out in the open; you can see Deadies coming for miles. We're almost there, actually."

Zoro didn't bother trying to look because the truck was already slowing. The shift of the gears jarred the bed, waking Sanji. The cook stirred, slowly sat up, and wiped at his eyes with the back of his wrist.

Zoro nudged Sanji's foot with his own and frowned when the cook looked at him. What was he supposed to do now that he knew Sanji had some kind of sleeping disorder? Was it a mental thing? Was it physical? Was it even a problem anymore? All the cook seemed to do when he was around Zoro was sleep, so none of this even made any sense. What else was the cook going through that Zoro was unaware of?

He couldn't ask those things though, not now. Not when there were crazy redheads watching them. But Zoro couldn't say nothing either.

"You okay?"

It was lame, but Sanji seemed not to mind. The cook smiled at him and nodded, running his fingers lazily over his eyes in a way that was just short of fucking adorable, before he turned to Nami and Kidd. He waved to them.

"Sleep well?" Nami grinned.

Sanji gave her thumbs up.

When the truck stopped, they got to their feet and climbed out of the bed. Sanji hit the ground and immediately turned to help Nami down. She smiled at him and accepted his offer with a soft "thank you." It was a ridiculously chivalrous gesture, extremely old-fashioned in Zoro's opinion, but the swordsman also had to admit to himself that it was rubbing him the wrong way only because he was a little jealous. Not that he wanted Sanji to be helping him down from places or anything. That would be stupid.

Luffy and the others had parked the bikes and were headed toward a campfire surrounded by tents and another couple of vehicles. A small group of people were waiting for them, all sporting their own various ideas of what badasses wore during the apocalypse. Leather jackets mostly, steel-toed boots, bandanas, a few of them had swords. Zoro wasn't sure if they were going for the classic biker gang look, or possibly pirates. Either way, Zoro didn't care. As long as they could kill Deadies, they could be wearing pink, frilly, tutus and Zoro would be cool with it.

"Sanji! Bro!" the large man with the Santa hat fell into step with them and clapped Sanji on the back. "Bike's runnin' great! You've taken real good care of her!"

Sanji pulled his notebook and pen from his pocket and scribbled a few words. Zoro didn't get a chance to see them or hear Franky—was that his name?—'s response however, because Nami had slipped her arm into his and was pulling him toward the campfire.

"Come have a drink while Sanji catches up," she said, that smile still pulling at her lips.

A drink sounded good. Actually, a drink sounded _really_ good. Maybe this gang wasn't so bad after all.

With some good whiskey in his belly and a fire to keep his hands and feet warm, Zoro found it was a lot easier to be civil. Nami introduced him to another seven or eight members of the gang, members whose names he promptly forgot, before she sat beside him and started to unbutton and unzip various layers of clothing. Zoro had to admit she was a very attractive woman, even when she wasn't baring all that skin, and he could see why Sanji might have a thing for her.

"So what are you doing all the way out here?" Luffy asked once the gang had said their hellos and settled down around the fire.

Zoro glanced at Sanji. There was no way he was going to talk about their mission unless Sanji explicitly told him it was all right to do so. Going way back with someone didn't automatically mean you could trust them with things like food or meds in an apocalypse. Maybe Sanji wanted to keep what they were really doing a secret? Zoro didn't know.

However, Sanji seemed okay with handing the reigns over to Zoro. He sat on the crate next to the swordsman's, wiping his hands and face with the rag and bottle of water Drake had given him. When Zoro looked his way, he merely shrugged and nodded his head.

"There's a bad lung infection going around our camp," Zoro said slowly. "We're making our way north, trying to get ahold of some antibiotics."

"You got a list?" Kidd asked.

Sanji nodded again and pulled the paper Chopper had given them out of his pocket. He handed it to Kidd and the redhead stood, glancing over the list of things that may as well have been dinosaur names, as far as Zoro knew anyway.

"Killer," Kidd said, motioning with his head.

The masked blond moved close, glancing at the paper over Kidd's shoulder.

"Look through our supplies and see if we have any of these."

Killer nodded, taking the paper and heading toward the largest of the vehicles. Zoro watched him, not exactly sure how he felt about this whole thing. It would have been understandable if Sanji and he had something to trade. Trading was common practice now that money was no longer a currency, but Zoro was fairly sure they had nothing.

And he would die before he gave up his sword.

Leaning in close to Sanji, Zoro whispered as casually as he could, "Is this a good idea? I mean, how well do you actually know these guys?"

Sanji took his pad and wrote a few words for Zoro to read.

_Don't worry, they're all crazy but they do what Luffy says._

"And you trust Luffy?" Zoro asked.

_With my life._

It was ambiguous comfort, but the way Sanji looked at him then calmed the swordsman's trepidations. If Luffy was the kind of someone who had the cook's complete and utter trust, the least Zoro could do was try and play nice.

"Okay," Zoro whispered.

Sanji grinned and turned to watch Kidd and a few others as they spoke to each other in low voices. Luffy was nodding, listening intently to Drake and another man with long, blond hair—Zoro had forgotten his name of course. They seemed intent in their discussion and focused on whatever it is they were trying to convey. Zoro hoped it wasn't something like they were trying to talk Luffy and Kidd out of helping.

When the group broke up, Luffy and Kidd came to sit with him and Sanji by the fire.

"The towns north of here have been picked clean," Kidd said quietly. "You're not going to find any of those meds even if you go all the way to Seattle. I think we might have a little doxycycline, but that other stuff on your list is some serious medical shit."

Zoro ran a hand over his mouth. "So, what are you suggesting we do?"

Kidd turned to Luffy, his eyes betraying the excitement he was no doubt feeling. For Zoro, that was both interesting and completely disconcerting because who the hell knew what kinds of things got Kidd excited?

Luffy took a breath and crossed his arms over his chest.

"We have an idea that will get you all the meds you need and more."

Zoro glanced at Sanji and the cook nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay," Zoro said, "What's the catch?"

"Well," Luffy smiled, "It's not so much a catch as it is breaking into a heavily guarded compound and possibly starting a war. And possibly dying."

Sanji snickered at Zoro's side and the swordsman turned to watch as his friend wrote a few words on his pad of paper.

_Well, if that's all then sign us up._

Shit. Just when Zoro thought he couldn't crush any harder on someone, Sanji had to go and do _that_.

"Great!" Luffy's smile widened into a grin and he clapped his hands together.

"Kidd, go find Bartolomeo and Bellamy! This is gonna be awesome!"

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter is sort of dialogue heavy. Not sorry. It had to happen sometime. I'll make up for it next chapter, I think. This also took longer than it should have, and that I am sorry for. I took a ridiculous amount of time tweaking things—like, two days or something. I say "tweaking" because what I do isn't editing. Editing would imply that I can edit. Which I can't.

Okay, there's a couple questions (and by "a couple" I mean several people asked the same two things). First: I really don't know how long this fic is going to be, but if I had to make a guess? This chapter here is probably halfway through. Second: Actually, no, I've never really thought about what would happen to animals before, I mean, not really in depth. I would assume that whatever happened to infect the humans would also happen to the animals? But I guess it really just depends on the lore.

Oh, and again, I need to stop and thank everyone for their reviews and comments. Seriously, I just don't have the words. This was just supposed to be a fun little thing I did to help me get some consistency in my writing flow, so I never expected to get the reaction that this story has produced. You all are awesome.

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**Chapter 9**

Sanji adjusted the collar of his jacket, wiping the last bit of the blood from the outer nylon. The down inside was probably destroyed, but there really wasn't anything he could do about that at the moment.

Glancing over at his friends, the cook felt a soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Luffy was standing in the back of the truck, arms crossed over his chest, smile wide as he excitedly explained to his men what they were about to do.

Having already been informed what this mission entailed, Sanji knew he was going to have to be on his toes. Luffy's brand of awesome had always been a little different than your average person's. He wasn't crazy, no. He wasn't a sociopath like a lot of his gang, but he did march to the beat of his own drum. When something was declared "awesome" by Luffy, it usually meant there was going to be a fight. Or something was going to explode. Or some other kind of shenanigans that ultimately ended in a mess and mayhem were inevitable.

This was the very reason why, after their group had found the compound several months ago, Luffy had taken a few of their group's more unconventional members and branched off. There was no way he would have ever been content growing crops and taking care of orphaned children. He needed to be free.

Kidd was much the same. He had been a little more hesitant to leave, but in the end, his spirit for adventure, and especially trouble, and won.

Taking a swallow of water from his canteen, Sanji watched the way Kidd delegated tasks to the rest of the group. He was such a mystery to Sanji, in so many ways. On several occasions, Law admitted that he and Kidd were very close, but Sanji couldn't figure out how that was possible. They were such opposites. Law was so serene; so calm and poised. Kidd was loud, fierce, and larger than life. Sanji had always thought Kidd was a raging fire next to Law's still water, but perhaps that was what made them such good friends. It was also probably what made Kidd the perfect person to be riding second to Luffy.

Well, that and the fact that Kidd was bat-shit crazy.

When Luffy had branched off and left the compound, others besides Kidd had followed. Over time, the gang had grown to almost thirty. They had picked up another few insane people, like Bartolomeo and Buggy, but they also had gained a few characters that were just plain weird. Hawkins, for example, was one of the strangest people Sanji had ever come across. Cavendish was another Sanji couldn't really figure out.

However, it seemed to work. They were like the country's most dangerous freak show, traveling the land in their caravan, killing Deadies and randomly rescuing people to take back to Law's compound.

A cheer rang out. The gang was apparently expressing their excitement for the impending "smack-down". Sanji just chuckled silently and took another swallow of his water.

This meet up was good, even if it was unexpected. Sanji would never have guessed they would run into Luffy on this mission. Back in November, roughly four months ago, Luffy had told him the gang was headed southeast until springtime. The warmer climate was going to make traveling on bikes and sleeping in tents easier. But now here they were, back in their northern territory. Why hadn't they come by the compound? Wouldn't Law want to know Kidd was back?

Well, whatever the reason, Sanji had more important and confusing things to think about. After loading his pack with the supplies Drake had given him, Sanji strapped it onto the back of his bike. He made a good show of looking like he was actually focused on what he was doing, but he was actually watching Zoro out the corner of his eye.

Zoro had been talking with one of Luffy's men, another swordsman named Ryo or Ryuma or something, for a while now. The two had noticed each other while the group had been gathering their things and had started talking about swords and kendo and all things samurai. Or, at least that's what Sanji thought they were talking about anyway. Sanji did not speak Japanese. The cook was beginning to understand what people must feel like when he spoke with Chopper or Nami in sign language.

Sanji was not jealous, but he had started to wonder if maybe when the mission was over Zoro would want to leave the compound and join Luffy. The gang had more to offer the swordsman than Law's group did, and Zoro definitely seemed like that type, the type that needed to be free. And really, if Sanji was being completely honest with himself, he could admit that there was absolutely nothing tethering Zoro to the compound at all. If he wanted to leave, it's not like he needed permission. He had no family to separate from, and no loved ones he would need to discuss it with first. If Zoro wanted to he could just go, and Sanji wouldn't try to stop him.

Even if just thinking about that made the cook want to kick something.

"Hey, Sanji!"

Nami was out of breath and her cheeks were rosy as she pulled Sanji from his spiraling thoughts. She took his arm and turned him around, busying herself with straightening his scarf and jacket. Nami was the only one allowed to do this, partially because she thought since the scarf had once been hers, it was still hers, but mostly because Nami knew she really could do almost whatever she wanted to Sanji and he would just take it like a man.

"He's pretty cool," she said softly, her smile repressed but still obvious, "You two a thing?

Sanji rolled his eyes, assuming she was speaking of Zoro. He lifted his hand to sign.

_No._

"That's too bad," she sighed, "He's hot, you're hot…"

_I'm pretty sure there are other factors that come into play when it comes to relationships._

Feigning confusion, she shook her head, "What? Really? Like what?"

_Well, the fact that neither he, nor myself are gay presents a problem._

"Aren't you the one that told me it's more about the connection and less about the biology?"

Sanji scoffed and watched the ground at Nami's feet. He had probably told her something along those lines at some point. It sounded like the stupid lovey-dovey crap he used to spew all over the place. He did believe it, in a way, but things were different now. Very different.

Shaking her head, Nami moved in closer and spoke even softer than before. "I've see how he looks at you. You've noticed, right?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Sanji shifted his gaze to watch the place where one of Nami's thumbs had started to caress the skin of his palm. A familiar sadness pulled at him from deep inside. A terrible ache that was never truly gone welled up and threatened to overtake him.

"Sanji."

_Yes. Yes._ He huffed. _I've noticed okay? And yes, I like him a lot, and I know he likes me. But I can't do that to him, you know that I can't. If he finds out? If he sees? It'll scare the shit out of him. At the very least he'll be disgusted._

"So, you're not even going to try? You're not even giving him a chance? That doesn't sound like you."

Sanji sighed again and ran a hand over his face. Nami's eyes were gentle even if her words were harsh. She wasn't trying to make him angry, she was just trying to help.

_Is this really the best time to be talking about this?_

Nami shrugged, "You want to save it for later when we could be dead? This is the apocalypse, babe. Take the chance while you can."

She was right, of course she was right. Sanji let out a breath and closed his eyes. He had effectively pushed these particular thoughts to the back of his head, but Nami had always been very intuitive when it came to these kinds of things. She understood that it was bothering him, even if he didn't want to admit it, and she understood that he needed to at the very least examine his feelings before they became something that would distract him.

Sensing his distress, Nami came still closer and ran her hands up his arms comfortingly. She rubbed her thumbs in circles, gently massaging the tense muscles in his biceps and shoulders.

"Hey, you deserve to be happy more than anyone."

Sanji scoffed and lifted his hands to sign, _Like you said, this is the apocalypse. Who can expect to be happy?_

It was Nami's turn to scoff. "I'm happy! I would appreciate more showers, but this is pretty much the life! I get to kill rotting dead people, I treasure hunt every day, I have two men fighting over me—"

_Woa, wait,_ Sanji interrupted, _They're fighting over you now? I thought—_

"It's a long story," Nami groaned, "Why do you think we haven't let the compound know we're back yet?"

Sanji ran a hand over his eyes and laughed. The things that were still an issue during the apocalypse never ceased to amaze him.

"Why hello, Zoro," Nami's voice was honey, "You ready to go bust some skulls?"

Sanji turned to find the swordsman approaching a few feet away from where they stood, and watching Nami's hands as they rubbed his shoulders. It was almost awkward. Like they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing, which was stupid, since he had stopped thinking about Nami like that several years ago.

"Luffy said I should ride with Sanji," Zoro said, "but if you want to, I have no problem hopping in back of the truck."

Nami smiled and pulled away from Sanji, but not before giving his shoulders one last affectionate squeeze. "Not to worry, my friend. I ride with Kidd."

Zoro's eyebrows lifted at that and his stance changed. He was always so wary of people, much like Sanji was if he didn't know them. It was a good thing though, with the world being the way it was. The cook had to admit it was kind of sexy the way Zoro always seemed to be ready to take on anything.

As the swordsman looked down at Nami's smiling face, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but then again might have shone with a little interest at the same time.

"Kidd your man or something?"

"Yes," Nami nodded and patted Zoro's cheek with her palm.

"One of them."

Sanji wanted to laugh at the look that passed over Zoro's face. As Nami walked away, heading toward the truck and the excited shouts and cheers of Luffy's men, Sanji found himself moving closer and grinning like a lunatic at his swordsman friend.

"She's uh…" Zoro deadpanned.

Sanji nodded. Yes, he understood.

Taking out the pad of paper, the cook wrote a few words and flipped it around for Zoro to read.

_So? Are you ready for this?_

Zoro blinked once, focused his attention, and folded his arm across his chest.

"Of course I'm ready, shit-cook. Are you?"

_You want to drive?_

"Hell yes."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Yeah, this one's short, but I have the next one partially done already. Action is coming, promise.

There were a lot of questions again this time, but I think I answered them all already individually. If you're confused about something, don't hesitate to ask, I don't mind.

Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews. Thank you so much! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

The group road through the late afternoon and into the evening before the truck turned off the highway and climbed a third of the way up a ridge. Luffy hopped off his bike and signaled for the men to cut their engines before he went the rest of the way to the top on foot. Kidd pulled a bag from the passenger side of the truck and signaled with a jerk of his head for Sanji and Zoro to follow.

Sanji made his way up but slowed just as he neared the brow. The sun was setting behind the mountains on the other side of the valley, and the last golden rays of sunlight were trickling down through the trees. Large parts of the landscape were slowly being blanketed in shadow, but that seemed to only make the sunlit surfaces shine that much brighter. The cook took a moment to take in the sight. He let the fading warmth of the sun's rays settle on his skin and pulled the clean mountain air deep into his lungs.

He felt Zoro at his side, and even though it was more likely that the swordsman was also watching the scenery before them, Sanji was fairly sure Zoro was watching him instead. The cook felt a strong urge to reach out his hand and brush his fingertips over Zoro's, just the barest of touches would show that he was thinking of the swordsman. Sanji knew that Zoro would respond, he would take his hand. The cook was sure of it.

"Damn, it's up and running now."

Kidd's voice pulled Sanji from his thoughts and effectively broke any kind of spell that had been cast by the beautiful morning. He turned to Zoro but the swordsman was already looking to where Drake was pointing.

In the valley below them, spread out over a square mile, was an industrial complex. Large portable buildings were connected by wide dirt roads that had once accommodated large vehicles. Smoke poured from several of the large chimneys that lined the central building and piles of steel and lumber were organized and stacked high in several places, but Sanji could see that none of it was actually being used.

Nami took the pair of binoculars Kidd had pulled from the bag, and moved to stand beside Luffy. "Yeah, the machinery is back on, but they're not using the steel mill."

"What does that mean?" Kidd asked.

Shrugging, Nami murmured, "It could mean a lot of things."

"Can I see?" Zoro asked.

Nami tossed the swordsman the binoculars and turned to Sanji. "We call this place the Red Line." When the cook looked at her funny she shrugged, "Luffy misread where it was on the map and thought it was the subway system in Portland."

Zoro snorted from behind the binoculars, "I can understand that."

"Anyway," Nami continued, "this place was taken over by one of our rival gangs a few months back. We're not sure what they do with it, but there's been a lot of nasty looking groups coming through here lately."

_They stockpiling? Trading?_ Sanji asked.

"We think so," Nami said, "something like that anyway. They come in with trucks filled with supplies, crates, and some other stuff every couple of weeks. They've raided everything from here and north, cities, houses, farms, you name it."

_You know how many there are?_

"No."

_Oh good,_ Sanji sighed, _Well, at least now I understand what Luffy meant about starting a war._

"We would always _try_ and negotiate."

_Right._

"What's he saying?" Kidd asked.

As Nami explained, Sanji turned to Zoro, who happened to be in the middle of a quiet conversation with Luffy. They stood close together, speaking in low tones, something Sanji had never actually heard Luffy do before. It was a little endearing seeing the two of them conspiring together, but at the same time, it sent a pang of regret through Sanji's heart. This was one more thing that Luffy could give Zoro on a regular basis that Sanji could not: adventure.

Pulling out his notepad, Sanji scribbled a few words and plastered a smirk on his face as he showed his friends his thoughts.

_I have a feeling we're not negotiating, are we?_

Zoro looked at him and shook his head. His teeth flashed white against his dark skin as he answered,

"No, we're not."

* * *

Their timing was ideal. The sun slipped behind the mountains as the group made their way down the east side of the ridge. Darkness came around them slowly, effectively concealing their movements. Sanji followed Bartolomeo as the pierced man sprinted across old train tracks and a wide, dirt road. Zoro and Hawkins were right behind him as they rounded a building and pressed up against its metal walls.

"Does this feel off to anyone else?" Hawkins asked.

"Which part?" Zoro asked, "Attacking a large camp with less than forty people? Or that their security is shit?"

Hawkin's sharp eyes turned to the swordsman and narrowed. "It's too loud here to be so quiet."

Sanji tried not to laugh at the look that passed over Zoro's face.

"What?" the swordsman deadpanned.

"This place isn't exactly inconspicuous, you can hear it for miles. But, when is the last time we saw a Deadie? There are towns surrounding this valley, and a large city just to the north. Where are all the walking dead?"

"Holy shit, Hawkins," Batolomeo growled, "shut the fuck up. Who the fuck cares?"

"It's a legitimate question."

Bartolomeo turned and leaned over Sanji to get in Hawkin's face. "My boot shoved up your ass is a legitimate question too, but you don't see me doing that shit while we're on Luffy's mission, now do ya?"

Sanji put a hand on Bartolomeo's chest just as Zoro came between the two gang members.

"Okay, now's not the time for this," the swordsman said softly. "Yeah, it's weird that there're no Deadies around, but we can chalk that up to this group clearing them out. Maybe we should just take that as some good luck and get on with this."

Sanji watched the muscles in Zoro's jaw flex as he eyed Bartolomeo. His gaze was cold and dark, menacing in a way the cook had never seen before. When Hawkin's shifted at his side, Zoro's grip tightened on the hilt of the blade he held in his left hand.

The tension was broken however, when Bartolomeo sniffed and spit on the ground at Zoro's feet.

"Man, I should 'a taken a shit before we left."

With that, he turned and peered around the corner, signaling to another group down the street.

Zoro glanced at Sanji and rolled his eyes. The cook smirked, thinking how great Zoro was going to fit in with this group. He not only could hold his own with the rest of them, but he could keep them under control. That was not something that just anyone could do.

When Zoro moved to glance down the street, Sanji turned to Hawkins and signed, _OK?_

Those strange, mahogany eyes rolled towards the cook, and Hawkins shook his head.

"This is not a lucky day for us. There's no such thing as 'no Deadies around'."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Why hello again! I got another chapter done in less than a week. I am quite proud of myself actually. The plot got a little out of hand here, but meh, it was fun so I don't care.

So, the next chapter (the chapter after this one) will reveal what's up with Sanji and why he can't talk! Also, there will probably be sex? I think there will be anyway. I hope so.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

There were three entrances to the main complex, two of which were on the east side. The west side had one small door above a wooden platform, occupied by a lone guard. Bartolomeo volunteered to take him out, but Hawkins reminded him that the plan was not to kill anyone until they knew what was happening inside. The hilt of Zoro's sword was enough to incapacitate the sentry, and Sanji disposed of the unconscious man beneath the platform.

Inside, Sanji and the others found themselves on the second floor of a large warehouse. It was a labyrinth of metal walkways over great piles of steel. As they made their way towards the east side, Sanji's nose picked up an underlying scent of rot and decay. It was unsettling, but not distracting enough to pull his focus from their goal. Most everywhere smelled of rot and death nowadays.

As they made their way through the shadowed second floor, trying to stay as close to the south wall as possible, a chorus of shouts and cheers rang out, echoing through the rafters.

"What the fuck is that?" Bartolomeo whispered.

Zoro's eyes were dark and narrow in the soft light. "Sounds like the crowd at a sports game."

"What, they take this place over so they can have indoor fucking basketball championships?"

"I don't know," Zoro growled, "I just said what it sounds like."

"Be quiet," Hawkins whispered, "There's movement up ahead."

Sanji slipped past Zoro and Bartolomeo and moved silently down the metal steps and onto another platform. Two men stood at the railing, watching whatever was happening beneath them with such focus, they did not notice Sanji until he tapped the first man on the shoulder.

One swift, lower kick, and both the men's legs flew out from underneath them. Zoro was on the men immediately, knocking them out cold with the hilt of his sword.

"What was your name again?" Bartolomeo asked.

"Zoro. For the third time."

Sanji tried not to react, but the way Bartolomeo was looking at Zoro made the cook want to tear some arms out of their sockets. Why was that? Sanji knew it wasn't like he and Zoro were together, Zoro didn't _belong_ to him. Bartolomeo could make worshipful, googly eyes at whoever he wanted. Sanji had no right to get possessive over someone he hadn't outwardly shown any romantic interest in.

Still, the thought of knocking Bartolomeo out and wiping those stupid looks of his face with the bottom of a shoe sounded really good.

"What is happening down there?" Hawkins murmured.

Sanji turned and looked out over the balcony. Beneath them bleachers were set up in a colosseum style, filled with spectators shouting and cheering as people fought against each other in a central pit. There were maybe one hundred men, possibly more.

"Woa, what the fuck?" Bartolomeo's voice wavered, and Sanji understood why.

The dirt floor was stained dark red, almost black in places. Three mutilated bodies lay strewn across the space, pieces of them splattered across the makeshift walls. In the center of the pit stood two men and one woman, all impossibly thin and standing unbalanced on trembling legs, and armed with nothing but crude weapons of broken pipes or pieces of wood.

Also inside the pit, surrounding them, were at least two dozen Deadies.

"Uh…" Zoro murmured, "what exactly are we looking at right now?"

"This like, a fight club or somethin'?" Bartolomeo asked.

Hawkins pushed away from the railing and continued down the platform. "It looks to me like some kind of torture-death sentence. It is unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do from here except follow the plan."

Sanji's heart raced in his chest and cold dread started to crawl up from his gut. There was something sinister here, something dark and evil, and it had nothing to do with what was happening below. Sanji was certain, he could feel it in his bones.

Checking over his shoulder, Sanji found Zoro's face set in a deep scowl. It was unclear whether the swordsman was feeling the same trepidation as Sanji, or if Zoro was merely disgusted by the display in the pit. In any case, when the swordsman glanced his way, Sanji saluted and mouthed "good luck" as the four split into two groups. Bartolomeo and Zoro headed towards the east side service entrance, while Sanji and Hawkins climbed down a ladder that led to the maintenance office and machinery control room.

The door flew inward from a swift kick and rocked on loose hinges. Hawkins cocked an eyebrow and smirked at Sanji.

"I don't think it was even locked."

Grinning, Sanji merely shrugged.

Inside, the control panels for the heating and cooling units, as well as the older steam and exhaust systems, ran along the farthest wall. Hawkins advanced, looking over the levers and checking the read outs on the display screen.

"The place is self-efficient. All you have to do is keep the fires burning. The steam that's produced by the furnaces runs the mill, which in turn provides the power for the generators." Moving across the room, Hawkins motioned to a map of the piping mounted on the wall. "If we reverse the steam from these two pipelines, it should overload these systems here, and possibly the furnaces as well."

Sanji nodded and moved toward the lever Hawkins indicated.

Across the room, Hawkins gripped another two levers and might have smiled.

"Ready?"

* * *

The explosion was unexpected, but then again, Zoro was not really sure what he had been expecting. It probably should not have come as such a surprise, his life had been filled with a lot of explosions in the last few days.

"All right!" Bartolomeo cackled, "Come on, Zoro! Let's get this fucking thing open!"

The "fucking thing" was a fifty foot service door, weighted down by a few hundred pounds of cement blocks and held in place by locks on a banded metal chain. When the explosion hit, the mill went dark for a few seconds. A loud hissing noise sounded from somewhere toward the back where they had come from. Zoro's initial thought had something to do with being impressed with the overkill, but then he immediately thought about Sanji. Was he okay? Where was the source of the explosion? The idiot cook would know how to blow some shit up without killing himself, right?

"Yo! Zoro!" Bartolomeo's voice sounded over the hissing. "Take it out!"

Gripping the sword in his palm, Zoro swallowed his anxiety. Of course Sanji was okay, it would take more than an explosion to take him down.

He swung the sword once, bringing it down on the loop of the lock. Steel screamed as Zoro's blade shattered the loop into countless pieces. Bartolomeo whooped and reached up, pulling the chain down and lifting the giant door. Outside, the half of Luffy's gang not breaking in through the windows and vents at the moment, came rushing in, Luffy at the front.

Zoro helped Bartolomeo secure the door and followed the group back toward the makeshift arena.

Chaos had broken out. The men surrounding the pit had been taken completely by surprise. Luffy's gang had surrounded and overtaken them in just a few short moments. It was a straight up brawl, a confusion of limbs and fists and bodies toppling off of bleachers.

And there was Sanji in the middle of it, defending those three souls in the center of the pit. He had backed the prisoners up against the wall and was fending off each Deadie as it came forward. The cook's eyes were cold and calculated as he felled one rotted walker after the other. Blood soaked his jacket and ran from his hair and down over his temple.

Moving quickly, dodging a flailing arm and a wayward knife, Zoro weaved through the fight and dropped into the ring. There were less than ten Deadies left, and Zoro made quick work of them. Even with only one sword, it was easy enough. Cutting through partially rotten flesh was a little like cutting through old fruit.

As the last Deadie fell, Zoro straightened and turned to meet Sanji's eyes. The cook stood a few feet from him, still shielding the prisoners. His hands rested at his sides, his right still holding his knife tightly clenched in a bloody fist.

To Zoro, time seemed to stop in that moment. Every movement, every breath, every drop of blood as it dripped from the strong line of Sanji's jaw, seemed to last forever, caught in this perfect point of time and space. The fight raged around them, but the swordsman found a certain quiet, a peace he had not expected.

Zoro stood in the eye of the storm, suspended. He hung in the balance, watching cool blue eyes stare back at him with relief, and with trust. In that moment, Sanji fixed him with a look of absolute admiration and longing so powerful, that the swordsman felt himself incapable of anything but mirroring it.

A wild shout from Luffy broke the spell. Zoro blinked, caught off guard, and glanced around at the fight as it started to slow. Luffy's group had either killed or incapacitated almost all of the other gang's men, and Luffy now stood at the top of the bleachers, arms folded over his chest and his face set in a wide, shit-eating grin.

Glancing back at Sanji, the cook smiled at Zoro and wiped the trickle of blood from his own jaw with the heel of his palm.

Zoro just focused on not blushing.

"_Okay!_" Luffy roared. "_Who's your boss! I have a thing I gotta do!_"

As if it had been rehearsed, at Luffy's call Kidd dragged a large figure out from the mess of people on the bleachers and tossed them into the pit. The man landed at Zoro's feet and wheezed what sounded like a painful cough as he hit the ground.

The man's face was frightful, long and pale with unnaturally red lips, and his teeth had been filed into points. When he rolled his round body to the side and stood up, Zoro was surprised to hear him actually laugh.

"You have no idea what you're doing, kid," he cackled.

Luffy's grin widened, "Oh yeah?"

The greasy man's grin widened. "You just signed death warrants for you and all your pathetic gang."

Bartolomeo hopped from the edge of the pit to connect his fist with the man's face. A satisfying crunch echoed through the warehouse.

"Yeah well, maybe," Luffy shrugged. "I don't know what you do here, but it can't be anything good. Thought now was as good a time as any to take you out. My friends need supplies."

The man spit blood on the ground and cackled again, his belly jiggling. "Who are you punks?"

Luffy cocked his head to the side, and the straw hat he always seemed to be wearing slid up his forehead, unveiling his eyes.

"I'm Luffy.

"Well, Luffy," the fat man grinned, "I'm Moria, and when my superior finds out about this, he'll bring down everything on you. You're fucking _dead!_ You and all your friends!"

Zoro saw the gun before anyone else because he was so close. When Moria pulled the piece from the inside of his jacket, the swordsman moved, bringing his blade up and around, slicing through leather and flesh. Moria screeched and grabbed at the wound, dropping the gun in the process.

Growling, Zoro moved closer and pointed the tip of his sword at Moria's throat.

"Who's your superior?"

Moria said nothing. He merely gripped his bleeding hand and leveled Zoro with a burning gaze.

"Maybe you didn't hear him?" Kidd barked. "Go ahead, Zoro. He's got enough skin to spare a little."

Zoro huffed a laugh and sneered, pressing the blade against the sweaty, rolled flesh beneath Moria's chin.

"Aaarrg, fine! Fine! Doflamingo! _His name's Doflamingo!_"

Kidd sighed and turned to Luffy.

"I knew it," Nami muttered from the bleachers.

Moria's face went even paler than it already was. His jaw dropped at the lax attitudes of his captors and he tried to pull himself to his feet. "Wait! Wait, you know him!? How do you know him? Who are you people!?"

Kidd pushed Moria back down with a press of his heel. He put a hand on Zoro's shoulder, letting the swordsman know to step aside, and leaned in close to their trembling prisoner.

"Two words, dipshit," Kidd snarled.

"Trafalgar Law."

Zoro was mildly surprised to hear gasps and curses from the subdued gang. The tension heightened tenfold through the space as everyone who was not with Luffy started to either cower or struggle.

Moria's face grew red. "_What!? Don't be stupid! Law is dead! You're supposed to be gone! You're supposed to be down south until the weather got warmer! What the hell are you doing here!?_"

Kidd and Bartolomeo lifted Moria by his arms and started to drag him back out of the pit, saying something about medicine and supplies. Zoro sighed, mildly confused and a little disappointed that the takeover had been so easy. When he turned back to Sanji, the cook was wiping the rest of the blood from his face with a blue handkerchief.

"Are you guys famous or something?" Zoro asked.

Sanji grinned and pulled the notepad from his pocket.

_Dolfamingo + Law = big underground business before Dead Day. Post Dead Day Dolf's been doing the same job but Law didn't like it so he faked his death so he could live quiet somewhere and take care of people._

Zoro stared at the simple explanation, stunned. Of course he would get himself into something like this.

"So, we didn't really start a war just now, we made a war that was already going on… worse."

Sanji glanced away for a moment, thoughtful, and then turned back to Zoro and nodded.

Zoro sighed, "Okay."

"Excuse me," a soft voice interrupted, "e-excuse me?"

Zoro turned and found one of the prisoners, the woman, reaching out for Sanji's jacket. The cook turned and caught her as she started to collapse.

"Woa, ma'am, are you okay?" Zoro asked.

The woman clung to Sanji's collar, tears streaming down her dirt and blood-stained face. "Please help… please help my son…"

Zoro moved closer. "Your son? Where is he?"

"Behind…" the woman whispered through parched lips, "behind this building… in the containers…"

Sanji looked at Zoro, his eyes intense and urgent.

Zoro turned and spotted Nami at the edge of the pit. "Nami! Come with me! I think there are more prisoners!"

* * *

Outside, only a few yards from where Zoro and the others had entered the man building, sat two large, metal containers about thirty feet long. Sanji approached the first one and hovered over the lock with a small flashlight. Zoro drew his sword and gently moved him aside before cutting it off.

When the swordsman opened the door, a rush of putrid air hit him so hard he staggered.

"Oh God!" Nami exclaimed. "What is that!?"

Turning around, Zoro reached out his hand to Sanji, palm up. "Lemme see your flashlight," he said.

Sanji handed him the light and the swordsman aimed the beam inside the container.

What Zoro saw there haunted him for a long time afterward.

Glazed, sunken eyes stared back at him from the darkness. Hollow cheeks and lips as dry as paper stood out starkly against skin as pale as a ghost. They were not Deadies, that much was certain, but for the life of him, Zoro could not figure out how they were still breathing.

"Oh my God…" Nami murmured.

"They're just holding them here until they starve to death?" Zoro growled.

"Wait!" Nami's voice was frantic. "Wait, Sanji don't! You don't want to see that!"

Confused, Zoro turned to the cook, but the look on Sanji's face froze the swordsman's blood.

Sanji was trembling, shaking with fury. His teeth were clenched so hard Zoro could hear his jaw creaking. Lips pulled back into a snarl, breath coming heavy and harsh, Sanji's eyes burned with a rage that Zoro had never encountered before.

"Sanji," Nami said softly, "Sanji, hey, calm down. Don't do anything—"

But Sanji was not listening. He turned away and headed back toward the main building.

"No! Wait! Zoro get him!"

On instinct, Zoro reached out for Sanji, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. Sanji turned back to him, his blond hair falling into cold, blue eyes that were no longer calm, no longer relieved or trusting. Before Zoro could react, the cook twisted and took out the swordsman's legs. The back of Zoro's head hit the ground and stars danced across his vision.

"Zoro!" Nami dropped to her knees at his side.

"We have to stop him, Zoro! You have to help him!"

TBC


End file.
